Elderly British couple kidnapped from their South African home 'may have been dismembered with their body parts sold to a witch doctor', court hears - as devastated family fear cover-up over 'slaughter'

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A elderly British couple who were kidnapped from their South African home 'may have been dismembered with their body parts sold to a witch doctor', a court heard, as their devastated family accuse local cops of covering up the brutal 'slaughter' .

Pensioners Anthony Dinnis, 73, and Gillian Dinnis, 78, were attacked by a gang of three men armed with guns at their remote farm in Middlerus in KwaZulu-Natal's Mooi River area, before disappearing without a trace last August.

But grim details of the horrific crime have been kept largely under wraps with the distraught family of the couple from Kent, who made the move to South Africa over 30 years ago, agreeing to remain silent during the police investigation.

Now, almost a year on, two suspects who had worked on the couple's farm as labourers and who were arrested last year in connection with the cruel murders have been released without charge - one of whom confessed that Anthony and Gillian were brutally butchered.

The horror details have only just begun to emerge from KwaZulu-Natal province - with the local police giving out little detail, sparking fears within the Dinnis family of a cop cover-up. 

An elderly British couple, Anthony and Gillian Dinnis, were kidnapped from their South African home and 'may have been dismembered with their body parts sold to witch doctors' a court heard

The couple, from Kent, were abducted from their South Africa farm before the alarm was raised by their neigbour Kevin after he hadn't seen them in two days

It was only when a police affidavit, submitted in court by Detective Warrant Officer Johannes de Lange, was read out at a magistrate's court bail hearing for one of the accused, who was released on June 13, that the chilling details of the crime were first brought to light.

In grisly evidence read out in public, a suspect allegedly confessed that when a ransom was not paid the pair were murdered and that parts of their bodies were cut off to be sold as 'muti', according to a local report from The Citizen.

Several days after the couple vanished, their son Sam received a threatening WhatsApp text from his mother's phone demanding a R2m (£85,000) ransom to be paid into her bank account.

Their daughter Kate Anderson, who is married and lives in Cape Town, was sent the same text message also in Zulu which said: 'To make things easy just pay R2m into this bank account number if you want to see your parents again'.

According to Kate, the family then urged the police to allocate more resources to intensify the search for her parents.

Following the suspect's release, she told Rapport newspaper: 'My parent were slaughtered. They were old, defenceless and only had each other. Who does something like this to people? They have both just gone.

'It is as if strange beings took them there is no sign of them'.

When Kate asked for her mother’s phone to be tracked, the police apparently told her that they only had one grabber device and that it was being used in another case.

When she asked for a helicopter to assist, she was told two of their three helicopters had crashed and the third one was broken.

The daughter also went through her father's diary which mentioned the couple's gardener several times and police tracked him down and found him at a church with a gun and Gillian's SIM card in his phone.

De Lange stated in court: 'The suspect also indicated that they went to the Dinnis residence and took a brush cutter, chainsaw and a TV. 

'He revealed that the other two men were armed with firearms. Thereafter, they left with the couple and went to another residence, where they murdered the couple'.

The shocked magistrate then heard the detective explain that a confession from the suspect revealed the UK couple's body parts were sold for R50,000 (£2,175).

Gang members allegedly cut off the body parts and travelled the five hours to Johannesburg to find a witch doctor to sell the bloodied body parts for cash before returning to the Middlerus area.

But despite the chilling confessions, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the suspect's charges were withdrawn on June 13 due to 'insufficient evidence' and that the investigation continues. 

The property agent told them that she remains awake at night with terrifying thoughts that one of her parents may have witnessed the other being tortured to death for body parts.

Gillian and Anthony's daughter, Kate Anderson, believes the local cops are covering up what really happened to her parents

Witch doctors pay more for body parts that come from live victims as the powers that they believe are in the 'muti' are much stronger than if cut from the bodies of dead victims.

'The police used horses, motorcycles and dogs to comb the mountains and woods and a BBQ pit and their vegetable garden were dug up and the local dam was also searched.

'Apparently they could not get good fingerprints from the house. I kept asking the police to allocate more resources and asked for my mum's phone to be tracked to try and find her'.

Kate said she has read the harrowing statement from the suspect who claimed that her parents' bodies were chopped up and sold to a sangoma (witch doctor) for cash.

She told Rapport: 'If so my question is where is the sangoma?. Is there a massive cover up? Perhaps because the police are from the same area they are afraid by the muti claims?

'It just feels to me that everything has been messed up. I have sent many emails to the police and others beseeching them not to abandon the investigation and get justice'.

Kate also said she had been told the suspect claimed he had been beaten into a confession.

The distraught daughter revealed: 'I have spoken to the rest of my family who are all extremely private and we are devastated and hurt by what has happened to us all.

'They have said outright they will not speak to you or anyone for that matter. Protecting my family comes first so I'm not going to work with you but thanks for reaching out to me'.

The practice of murdering kidnapped people and then dismembering them - often while still alive - for their limbs and organs which are sold to make 'magic potions' is well known in the area.

Those who buy the 'potions' are said to be brought good luck or they can ward off enemies or help be lucky in love or bring great wealth or if sick they can restore good health.

Up until the hearing, the disappearance of the couple had been a complete mystery with daughter Kate, 52, and sons Sam, 42, Noah, 40, and Josh, 38, refusing to comment on police advice.

Before the couple vanished, the Dinnis's lived a solitary 'reclusive' life.

The couple from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were married for 54 years and after putting their children through a UK education emigrated over 30 years ago with them to South Africa.

After the children grew up and left home the Dinnis's settled into a quiet life growing vegetables and rearing chickens.

But their landlord and neighbour Kevin Foster, 59, who called in on them most days and did their shopping was suspicious when they did not answer the front door two days running.

Gang members allegedly cut off Gillian and Anthony's (pictured) body parts and travelled five hours to Johannesburg to find a witch doctor to sell the bloodied parts for cash before returning to the Middlerus area

Taking matters into his own hands, he approached the home but received no answer at the door.

After breaking in, Kevin found the couple's five dogs and three cats inside - and suspiciously, nothing had been stolen. 

He said: 'Their 5 dogs were inside barking but when there was no sign of them the next day I knew something was wrong and got a neighbour and we forced our way inside.

'We found the doors and gates had been locked and released the dogs and the three cats but there was no sign of real disturbance inside but Gill's walking stick was still there.

'She never goes anywhere without it as she has difficulty walking and that rang alarm bells as well as the fact the dogs and the three cats had been shut in rooms for so long.

'Neither Tony nor Gill go out very often and my wife Sue or I fetch what they need from the shops for food but they are still active and grow some great vegetables in the garden'. 

Kevin called the police on August 27 and a search began for them - but to this day no trace has been found.

The police are still hunting for the two other members of the gang and confirmed that they have not found any sign of Anthony or Gillian's bodies to bring closure to their family.

A neighbour said: 'There's no clues to where Tony and Gill are. It's like aliens picked them up and took them. They were a quiet couple who spent all their time in their garden.

'They were both very good at growing fruit and vegetables and would sell it or give it away. They didn't have anything worth stealing but just lived a happy life on the farm' she said.