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Daily Beast slammed for 'That Escalated Quickly' tag on Rachel and Rodney Saunders murder story

The microbiologist and horticulturist pair was looking for rare seeds in South Africa when they were killed in February 2018
UPDATED OCT 6, 2022
Daily Beast is receiving flak for its reportage of the deaths of Rachel and Rodney Saunders (nickbailey365/Twitter and @Playerinthgame/ Twitter)
Daily Beast is receiving flak for its reportage of the deaths of Rachel and Rodney Saunders (nickbailey365/Twitter and @Playerinthgame/ Twitter)

EMPANGENI, SOUTH AFRICA: The Daily Beast's reportage of the double murder case of a British pair — horticulturist Rod Saunders and microbiologist Dr Rachel Saunders — has been criticized online after they put a “stupid stamp” along with the story. While writing about the tragic end of the elderly duo and the trial of their alleged murderers, the website put a tag below the headline, ‘TV Garden Experts Killed and Fed to Crocodiles in Rare Seeds Dispute, Court Hears,’ which read: “That Escalated Quickly.” The seemingly insensitive tag left people fuming with anger.

63-year-old Rachel and 74-year-old Rod were reportedly looking for rare seeds in South Africa when they were killed in February 2018. Their bodies were apparently thrown to the crocodiles of the Tugela river, a court was told Tuesday, October 5.

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Just days before their murder, they shot a segment for the BBC TV show ‘Gardeners’ World’. BBC presenter Nick Bailey even posted a photo with them on his Twitter account at the time while writing, “The amazing Rod and Rachel Saunders of Silver Hill Seeds. These guys know their South African native plants.....and vitally where to find them. They sell an incredible range of seeds online. #silverhillseeds #SouthAfrican #nativeplants #horticulture #planthunters,” attracting loving comments.



 



 

A fan said, “Inspiration on the gardening front and face foliage too there, Nick! Awesome!” “My dad purchased seeds for me from them many moons ago, I never did get the proteas to germinate but I do have a woody shrub that did germinate, no idea what it is, and I think my strelizia collection is courtesy of them too,” another added.



 

Later, on February 15 of that year, 39-year-old Sayefundeen Aslam Del Vecchio and his 28-year-old wife Bibi Fatima Patel were arrested for the alleged crime and slapped with kidnapping and murder charges respectively. It has been said that if found guilty, they could face life imprisonment.

The Durban High Court has now heard, “It was established on Feb 13 that the defendants were drawing money from various ATMs which amounted to theft of $42,000 and there was the robbery of their Land Cruiser and of camping equipment. It is alleged that between Feb 10 and 15 at the Ngoye Forest the accused did unlawfully and intentionally kill Rachel Saunders and between the same dates did unlawfully and intentionally kill Rodney Sanders.”

While the senseless killings sent shockwaves among people, Daily Beast’s usage of the tag has left readers in dismay. @Playerinthgame tweeted while sharing a screenshot of the publication’s report, “I have questions about the Daily Beast's coverage of the deaths of Rod and Rachel Saunders.” A second user wrote, “Daily Beast is creepy and that is a callous & creepy way to cover the murder of this couple - like it was in a video game & not human beings.” 



 



 



 

@Playerinthgame then added, “Absolutely. These lovely, sweet people. Get featured on GW and some pigs think oh they're famous now we should murder and rob them. All they wanted to do was leave nature undisturbed and study flowers. Couldn't believe that stupid stamp on the article. Ice cold.”

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