A 39-year-old man charged with the murder of his 24-year-old wife in August last year who is out on bail, had his case postponed to 25 August by the Alexandra Magistrate Court.
The case heard on 11 August, was postponed when his legal representatives requested more time to consult their client.
The man was previously referred to Sterkfontein Hospital for a 30-day psychiatric assessment, and the court heard that psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist found him fit to stand trial after it emerged that he had no mental illness or incapacity.
The court heard that the man from Kyalami Estate in Midrand and a director of a cleaning company, allegedly killed his wife at their home in the presence of only one witness, their two-year-old daughter.
The man allegedly stabbed his wife with a pair of scissors after an argument which was overheard by neighbours who called the police. On arrival officers found the woman dead on the floor with multiple stab wounds to her body. The man is said to have taken the child and sped away in his car, breaking through the complex’s security gate.
Police then traced him to a relative’s home in Randburg where he was arrested the same day.
In mitigation, the man’s legal representatives admitted his guilt but alleged he was in a state of dizziness which they attributed to food he had eaten which, they allege, had been drugged by the wife. The representatives claimed this was a ploy to enable her to flee with their child as planned.
They alleged that when he quizzed her about tampering with the food, she assaulted him with a bottle which enraged him and led him to stab her several times, resulting in her death.
The man also admitted to court to using drugs, but on the day he said he had only drunk a Savannah to calm him down before the incident.
