Tshuma Appears in South African Court Over 3 UK Murder Charges

Q: How did a triple murder suspect flee the UK before his victims were even discovered?

He appears to have left legally before police knew a crime had been committed. According to the reported timeline, Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma flew out of the UK from Heathrow on Saturday, July 4, using a British passport, and arrived in Johannesburg on July 5. The bodies of his wife and two daughters were not discovered until Monday, July 6, after concerns were raised that the family had not been seen for several days. That timing is the key reason he was able to get out. Because the deaths had not yet been detected, there was no murder inquiry underway, no arrest warrant, and no border alert or international notice attached to his name when he travelled. South African police have said he was not flagged on arrival for exactly that reason: the killings in the UK were only discovered after he had already entered the country. His escape therefore was not the result of evading an active airport manhunt, but of a gap between the suspected time of the killings and the moment the victims were found. Once the deaths were discovered, UK authorities moved to trace him internationally. South African police say he was then located in an intelligence-led operation in Johannesburg, even before a Red Notice was issued, and arrested on Friday, July 10. He now faces UK extradition proceedings on three murder charges, as well as a separate firearms charge in South Africa.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 13

Johannesburg police brought Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma to court after his Friday-night arrest on a UK extradition request tied to three murder charges.
Three victims — Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5 — were found dead at their Great Denham home near Bedford on 6 July.
South African police said the hearing also covers an illegal firearms possession charge and that Britain has sent a provisional Interpol request plus an arrest warrant.
UK authorities now have 40 days to submit a full extradition package, including the case docket and supporting evidence, as the cross-border murder case moves forward.