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‘Leigh’s Killer Must Answer’: Father Rob Matthews Vows to Fight Donovan Moodley’s Parole
Two decades after the murder of Leigh Matthews, her father Rob Matthews is still haunted by questions that never found answers. And now, as her convicted killer Donovan Moodley eyes parole, he says he will not stop fighting until the full truth comes out.
A Father Still Searching for Answers
Rob Matthews believes his daughter’s kidnapping and murder in 2004 was not an opportunistic crime but a carefully calculated plan. For 11 agonising days, Leigh was missing, during which a ransom was paid. Her body was later found dumped in open veld.
Moodley confessed, was convicted, and jailed. But Matthewsand even late detective Piet Byleveld, who investigated the casebelieve Moodley did not act alone. “The judge at sentencing even noted that there were probably other people involved,” Matthews recalls. Yet Moodley has never named anyone else.
This week, hope for fresh answers resurfaced when the family received a box of original investigation files, donated anonymously by someone sympathetic to their cause. Inside were police reports, intelligence notes, and evidence photos collected during Byleveld’s probe.
For the Matthews family, this file may be more than just paperworkit could be the last chance to prove that Leigh’s murder was bigger than one man.
Chilling Details Resurface
Among the most disturbing theories is that Leigh’s body was kept in cold storage before it was dumped.
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A funnel-web spider’s web, which forms within 24 hours, was found near her bodysuggesting she had been placed there less than a day before discovery.
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Photographs showed frosting on her extremities, hinting at refrigeration.
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Moodley’s cellphone records placed him at Montecasino around the same time, raising questions about whether he even had the means to move and store the body alone.
Such details, Matthews says, make it impossible to believe Moodley acted without help.
The Bullets That Should Never Have Been
Rob Matthews has spent years studying the type of ammunition used on his daughter, dumdum bullets, also known as hollow-points. These rounds expand on impact, ripping devastating wounds. They are banned under international law for their brutality.
“I showed the parole board exactly what those bullets do to the human body,” he said. “They needed to understand the kind of man they are considering for release.”
Why the Rush for Parole?
Moodley has now served 20 years of his life sentence, but the Matthews family is deeply opposed to any parole.
“I don’t know why there is such a rush for parole,” Rob says. “Surely it must be earned? Surely society must feel safe knowing this person can be reintegrated? Too many times, people are released and commit the same crime or worse.”
For many South Africans, the parole debate cuts to the heart of public safety and justice. Social media has lit up with support for the Matthews family, with many echoing Rob’s view: “Leigh’s killer must stay behind bars.”
Leigh Remembered
To her father, Leigh was not a victim defined by her murder. She was a bright, kind young woman, never the “party type,” and certainly not someone who simply ended up “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Her death, he says, was the result of meticulous planning. And that knowledge fuels his determination to keep fighting, not just for Leigh, but for every family who could face the same pain.
“We have an obligation to make a difference,” Rob Matthews says. “Leigh deserves nothing less than the full truth. And her killer must answer for it.”
{Source: The Citizen}
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