A Gauteng woman faces 55 charges, including three murders and fraud tied to forged wills and bank card misuse. Judgment is due May 9.
Key points:
- Boomgaard is accused of killing three people and forging wills to access their assets.
- Authorities linked her to the deaths through bank card usage, fake wills, and vehicle tracking.
- Judgment in the high-profile case is expected on May 9.
Pretoria — A 63-year-old Gauteng woman is facing 55 criminal charges, including three counts of murder, after prosecutors linked her to a string of suspicious deaths, forged wills, and the misuse of bank cards belonging to the deceased.
Zaheera Boomgaard appeared before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday, where prosecutors laid out a complex web of circumstantial evidence allegedly tying her to the deaths of three individuals, including a British national.
Among the victims is Jamnadas Harkant Nathvani, 71, who had traveled to South Africa in 2020. He was last seen boarding a bus from Park Station in Johannesburg to Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. His body, later discovered in an open veld in Gauteng, was burned beyond recognition. Dental records confirmed his identity, and a post-mortem revealed signs of blunt force trauma and strangulation.
Forged wills and stolen identities
Authorities discovered Nathvani’s body following the recovery of his friend Lynette Mustapha’s charred remains in Walkerville. She was identified through her fingerprints. A third alleged victim, John Naisby, went missing in 2012 after visiting Boomgaard. Although his body was never found, the state highlighted key similarities in each case.
Prosecutor Andre Wilsenach noted that both Naisby and Nathvani had visited Boomgaard shortly before vanishing, and their bank cards were used afterward. Investigators said Boomgaard was found with those cards in her possession. When police searched her home, they also discovered two forged wills naming Boomgaard as sole beneficiary—one belonging to Mustapha and the other to her deceased sister. Both documents had been submitted to First National Bank.
A sheet of paper containing multiple imitations of Mustapha’s signature was also recovered from Boomgaard’s residence. The accused, however, denied all knowledge of the forgeries and murders.
Circumstantial trail and final judgment
Boomgaard claimed she had only met Naisby once when she picked him up from the airport and insisted she had no information on his whereabouts. A tire track analyst testified that marks found beside Nathvani’s body matched Boomgaard’s car. SANRAL toll data confirmed that her vehicle was in the area at the relevant time.
Nathvani’s phone and bank card were later found in her house, and surveillance showed his cards were used at multiple stores and ATMs after his death. Mustapha’s neighbor received a strange message from her number—using Nathvani’s phone—claiming she was in hospital after an accident.
Despite Boomgaard’s denials, prosecutors say the evidence leads to one conclusion. Judgment is scheduled for May 9.
