The mysterious disappearance of an elderly British couple in South Africa is taking a new turn, as their daughter claims her parents were murdered as part of a black magic ritual and warns that the perpetrators may strike again.
Anthony “Tony” Dinnis, 73, and his wife Gillian, 78, disappeared in August 2023 from their secluded home in the Middlerus area of KwaZulu-Natal. Since then, no trace of them has been found, and they remain officially missing.
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Their daughter, Kate Anderson, told the Times that she believes her parents were abducted, murdered, and mutilated so that their body parts could be sold for use in “muti” ritualsas part of black magic rituals. This is a form of traditional healing and ritual practice that, in the vast majority of cases, uses plant or animal materials; in certain criminal cases, however, it has been linked to the illegal use of human body parts.
The diary that stopped and the ransom demand
According to Anderson, the diary her father kept stops on Sunday, August 27, 2023. The couple was reported missing the following day.
There were no obvious signs of a struggle in the house, but Gillian’s walking stick had been left behind, leading the family to suspect that the elderly woman had been taken from the house against her will.
About a week later, the family received a ransom demand for two million rand on Gillian’s cell phone. The amount was subsequently drastically reduced to 50,000 rand. However, when the couple’s daughter asked for a photo as proof that her parents were alive, there was no response.
The Gardener’s Arrest and the Confession That Fell Apart
The investigation turned to a gardener who, according to the family, was the last person to have seen the couple.
The police later located him at a local church, where he was reportedly using Gillian’s SIM card in his cell phone. He was arrested along with a second man.
During the police investigation, the gardener reportedly confessed that he was one of the three men who kidnapped the couple and that the victims were murdered, while their ears and fingers were removed to be sold as “muti” to a healer or ritual practitioner in Johannesburg.
This confession, however, did not lead to a conviction. The suspect claimed that he had been beaten by police officers to force a confession, and the court ruled that the testimony could not be accepted as valid.
In June 2024, the charges against the two men were dropped due to insufficient evidence, while a third suspect was never located.
“They got away, and they might do it again”
Kate Anderson now says she fears the perpetrators remain at large and may commit similar crimes again.
“They got away. If they need money again, they’ll do it again,” she told The Times, calling on authorities to take such cases more seriously.
She argues that fear and prejudice surrounding “muti” often hinder the investigation of such crimes, while also warning foreign visitors to be cautious in remote areas.
The Disappearance of Lorna McSorley
The Dinnis case has returned to the spotlight as the disappearance of 71-year-old British woman Lorna McSorley remains unsolved; who went missing in September 2025 near the Ghost Mountain Inn, also in KwaZulu-Natal, remains unsolved.
McSorley had gone for a walk with her partner, who returned to the hotel because of the heat, while she continued on her own. She never returned, and despite a large-scale search operation involving dogs, helicopters, and drones, the only item found was a map of hers.
Her family is now asking that the case be treated as a possible homicide and not merely as a disappearance. South African authorities, however, point out that so far there is insufficient evidence to officially classify the case as a homicide.
What Is “Muti”?
The term “muti” is used in South Africa to refer to traditional healing practices and medicines, which are usually made from plant or animal materials.
In a few rare criminal cases, however, murders have been documented in which human body parts were removed under the belief that they could confer strength, luck, or protection.
These cases do not represent traditional medical practice as a whole, but constitute a distinct criminal phenomenon that has occasionally preoccupied South African authorities.
The case of Tony and Gillian Dinnis remains officially unsolved, with their bodies still missing and their family calling for a new investigation and more answers.
Source: Proto Thema
