Fight for justice goes on after inquest heard

Robert Mandley, 66 was strangled and beaten as he moved house in South Africa where he went to from Bucks in 2008 with his late wife Valerie.

He died on April 20, but so far no-one has been charged with his murder despite an ongoing police investigation.

An inquest into the death was heard by Bucks Coroner Richard Hullet last week, and he gave an ‘unlawful killing’ verdict.

Mr Mandley’s brothers Don and Chris and sisters Shiela and Diane attended the inquest in Beaconsfield last Wednesday.

But they say that they want the Foreign Office to put more pressure on South African authorities to get to the bottom of the crime.

Speaking after the inquest Chris Mandley, who lives in Aylesbury and gave evidence at the inquest, said: “The inquest was difficult because obviously the remit of the coroner is not the same as a normal court.

“But, he did listen to everything that I had to say and in his summing up he did 
say that it seems like there is more to this then meets the eye, which is what we believe too.

“The police out there don’t want to investigate this the way we want it investigated.”

He added: “The inquest was another level of closure. But I didn’t realise until they read out the South African police report that Robert had been strangled as well as beaten over the head.

“From the injuries I saw when I identified the body it looked as though he had in a fight.

“The next stage is to try and wrap up the rest of his affairs and chivvy along the Foreign Office to get them to urge the South African police to do a bit more.”

Mr Mandley was moving into a new flat in Johannesburg when the attackers struck.

After the killing his assailants left with his mobile phone, wallet and other personal belongings.

Mr Mandley was an army veteran who served in the Northern Ireland conflict as well as in Norway, Bermuda, Belize and Gibraltar.

A lover of outdoor pursuits, he was a member of Aylesbury Fly Fishing Club and loved attending the Bucks County Show.

He grew up in Southcourt, and worked at Hazells as an adult apprentice bookbinder when he left the army in 1976.

After that, and before he retired he worked as a postman out of the Aylesbury sorting office.

His round covered the Cottesloe Road and Walton Court areas.

Speaking to The Bucks Herald in the weeks after his brother’s death Chris said: “The older members of our family have all enjoyed a long life.

“For somebody in his later years of life, he had every right to expect them to be happy.

“All he was doing was moving house, he was a quiet man and kept himself to himself, and for something like this to happen to him is just terrible.”

After Mr Mandley’s death his family worked tirelessly to bring their brother back to the UK for his funeral at Amersham Crematorium.

The family thanked a number of agencies, 
including the High Commission in Pretoria, consular support workers, the Victim Support charity and funeral directors in both South Africa and the UK for helping make this 
process as smooth as possible.