POLICE IN SOUTH Africa are conducting a murder investigation today after a British couple on their honeymoon were targeted by carjackers in Cape Town – after which the bride was killed.

The BBC reports that the couple, named as Shrien and Anni Dewani from Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol, had been married for just two weeks when they were carjacked in the outskirts of of Cape Town on Saturday night.

The driver of the couple’s vehicle was reportedly forced out of the car at gunpoint and the attackers drove away with the vehicle. About an hour later, Shrien was released unharmed in Harare, an area of the township of Khayelitsha, according to the BBC.

The Guardian reports that the body of 28-year-old Anni was discovered on Sunday morning in the back seat of the abandoned car. The cause of her death has not been established, but a postmortem examination is due to take place in the coming days.

Lieutenant Colonel Andre Trout from the Western Cape Police told the BBC that the victim was found with injuries to her head and chest. He added:

We don’t know what the motive for this was. Why did they kill the woman? They hijacked the vehicle but then they decided to leave the vehicle a few hours later, so they were obviously not interested in the vehicle itself.

The British Foreign Office has said that it was offering consular assistance to the woman’s family.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, however tourists are rarely targeted.