Seriously ill Moodley urged to tell the truth

Unsolved Mysteries.....

Seriously ill Moodley urged to tell the truth......

26 June 2010, 09:37


Moodley's appeal dismissed

Piet Byleveld remains obsessed by one question: who helped Donovan Moodley conceal the body of Leigh Matthews for a month after he killed her.

Yesterday he urged Moodley, who he says is seriously ill, to confess before it is too late.

Moodley, who is serving a life sentence for Matthews's murder, has no legal option left after losing his appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal last month.

Byleveld, who retires on Wednesday as the country's most famous modern detective, is anguished by the unsolved riddle.

Moodley's erstwhile fiancee, Yeshika Singh, has left the country and now lives in the Czech Republic. Moodley's family live a very low-key life, as do his once close friends.

Moodley is extremely ill, visiting prison doctors every week, said Byleveld.

"I thought he was pulling a fast one," Byleveld said, "you know, like Schabir Shaik, but he isn't - he's really, seriously ill. Moodley is the only one who can reveal that information. It is those closest to him and this is why he doesn't want to tell. But he is ill now - he may actually crack.

"I am not in any rush because I am not out to just arrest people, I am out to get a conviction," Byleveld said.

The super-sleuth worked day and night with a team of detectives to solve the murder of Bond University student Matthews.

At his appeal hearing, Moodley, jailed for life four years ago for the kidnapping and murder, said he felt like a monkey in a cage and believed he should be released.

Moodley shocked journalists by the incredible amount of weight he had lost behind bars and by his haggard appearance.

In papers filed with the Johannesburg High Court, Moodley maintained the murder had not been planned as claimed during the trial and had suddenly become a necessity.

He also said he believed Johannesburg High Court Judge Joop Labuschagne misinterpreted the media frenzy surrounding the high-profile trial as public interest, which caused bias against him.

But, exactly a month ago, the SCA dismissed the application for leave to appeal, which was Moodley's last hope of getting his sentence reduced.

And as Byleveld prepares for a quieter lifestyle from Thursday morning, it is the Leigh Matthews case that will haunt him until it is completely solved. But not before he chooses which private company he wants to work for and not before his autobiography hits the shelves in July.

"I have so many offers from companies. I can't ever be completely away from the kind of work I am so used to. I haven't made a decision yet.

"The book tells my life story. It'll have many things in it which people may not have known about me. There are many details of the cases which stood out for me. I also talk about the Leigh Matthews case. There are still so many things that are not right with it. But one day is one day."

His new girlfriend, Elize Smit, has nothing but praise for her man but is anxious to see more of him in the future. It is she who he discussed his cases with, who he talked over his theories with and who gave him those pep talks when difficult cases frustrated him.

And Byleveld isn't modest either: "I don't want to be windgat (conceited) or anything, but I am good at what I do. Once I have found a motive, it points me directly to the perpetrator. I always distance myself from the case, even though it pains me at night when I am at home. I treat the suspects with respect. I am not there to judge them. I am doing my job."

So what will the top cop be doing on Thursday morning?

"I am going to visit my brother on his farm and act as if I am retired," he laughs, "Oh wait, I hate that word. I am not going to be playing golf, fishing or sitting on the stoep like a pensioner. I am not a pensioner. I don't like that word either."

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Independent on Saturday on June 26, 2010

Saturday Star

Comments by Sonny

How many more CRIME MYSTERIES WILL GO TO THE GRAVE IN TIME!!

This leaves us with more questions than answers.

Moodley's case was not the only one that ended in a puzzle!

Has Moodley also been injected with the "SA Prison Bug!"