Disabled woman's husband 'carefully planned her murder'
The husband of a disabled Burnside woman who drowned in a pond 'carefully planned' her murder, a court has heard.
Detectives arrested 68-year-old Peter Dansie at his home on Tuesday morning.
Barefoot and handcuffed, he was led into court, accused of killing his wife, Helen, who has been in a wheelchair since having a stroke 22 years ago.
Her body was pulled from a pond at Veale Gardens on Easter Sunday.
At the time, Mr Dansie protested his innocence, saying: "Of course it was an accident, why would I do something like that?"
The court heard Mr Dansie told police he tried to save his wife when her wheelchair plunged into the water, but it was "bloody deep and freezing."
However, the pond was only 1.1 metres at its deepest point, the court heard.
Prosecutors say Mrs Dansie had good upper body strength, proved by security video footage of her standing and getting into a car on the same day.
They say Mr Dansie took a spare set of clothes with him to the park, removed his watch, and left his phone and wallet at the base of a tree.
The court heard that when detectives arrested Mr Dansie they found his wife's ashes in a vessel covered in rubbish in the back of a car.
Mr Dansie's lawyer applied for bail, arguing his client could not run his forestry business if in custody.
It was refused amid fears he would travel to China, where he has extensive business contacts and allegedly a girlfriend.
Late on Tuesday he was taken to hospital under guard.
His lawyer said Mr Dansie was a diabetic with a heart condition and is on extensive medication.
