Husband drowns wheelchair-bound wife by pushing her into pond before flying to China with suitcase filled with sex toys
A DERANGED husband who drowned his wheelchair-bound wife by pushing her into a pond was found with a suitcase filled with sex toys in an attempt to flee to China.
Peter Rex Dansie, 71, murdered his wife Helen, 67, during an outing to a public garden in Adelaide, Australia.
Dansie was found guilty in December of the 2017 murder and was jailed on Thursday for at least 25 years.
In sentencing, Justice David Lovell described the killing as “evil” and said Dansie had shown no remorse.
The judge said: “This was a chilling, planned murder of a person whose mistake was to trust you.”
‘IMPLAUSIBLE’ STORY
During his trial, the court heard Dansie took his wife on an innocent outing to a public garden on Easter Sunday of 2017.
He then waited until it was nearly dark and other people had left before pushing her into the pond.
Dansie told police he briefly climbed into the pond after his wife fell in, but got out to call emergency services.
Dansie said he tried to keep her head above water and manoeuvre her to the edge of the pond in an unsuccessful rescue attempt.
Helen, your loving and devoted wife for over 40 years, had simply become a burden to you.
Judge David Lovell
But prosecutors argued it was no accident that Mrs Dansie’s wheelchair ended up in the pond, and that her husband’s story was implausible.
Dansie was found to have left his watch and wallet in the car, something the judge said showed an “expectation on your part that you would be getting wet that night”.
The judge said: “While you deliberately, and with intent to kill, pushed Helen into the pond, exactly how you pushed her in and what occurred after you did that act, I am unable to say.
“While you did get into the pond to give the impression that you had tried to save her, you clearly made no such attempt.”
The court heard that Dansie no longer wanted to care for his ailing wife and wanted to pursue a sexual relationship with a woman in China.
Judge Lovell told the court: “Helen, your loving and devoted wife for over 40 years, had simply become a burden to you….This was a chilling, planned murder of a person whose mistake was to trust you.”
SUITCASE OF SEX TOYS
In describing Dansie’s motive to murder, the judge said he had an interest in pursuing a sexual relationship with another woman in China.
The day before Dansie was due to fly to China, police searched his home and found a suitcase packed with condoms, viagra, sex toys and lingerie.
A non-parole period was set of 25 years and Dansie will serve the mandatory head sentence of life in prison.
The 71-year-old has been granted leave to appeal against his conviction with a hearing to be held in May.
In a statement read to the court, Helen’s son Grant Dansie said he hoped the case would result in a review about how the Government deals with the rights of the most vulnerable as there were ‘gaping holes in the system’ which was meant to protect them.
Mrs Dansie, a former microbiologist, was left her with long-term disabilities after suffering a stroke in the 1990s.
MOST READ IN NEWS
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.