A second suspect may be linked to the alleged murder of the Brooklyn missing-assumed-dead woman.
Dawn Basdeo was last seen in June and her husband, Prem Emmanuel Basdeo (58) told the police that she had gone to a local hospital for blood tests and never returned home.
On Friday Prem appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court facing charges of murder, perjury and defeating the ends of justice in connection with the disappearance of his wife.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Basdeo ‘murderer’ lied about where he dumped the body, searchers say
Prosecutor Kagisho Rancho requested that the matter be postponed as there was another “possible suspect who might be linked to the case”.
Rancho said the state was still waiting for the results of the DNA test on the blood that was found in the couple’s home.
“We are still waiting for the DNA results,” Rancho said.
Rancho said the state was also still waiting to access the phone records of the suspected accomplice.
Prem allegedly admitted to disposing of Dawn’s body after she slipped and fell in the bathroom while they were having an argument.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Missing Pretoria woman: State wants to look into Basdeo’s previous murder case
He was denied bail in July by magistrate Disiree Stigling, who said the state had a strong case against him including circumstantial evidence that suggested he may have been linked to his wife’s disappearance.
Prem denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance and said her whereabouts were also of concern to him.
“I deny that I murdered my wife. I do not know where my wife is and don’t know whether she is dead or alive,” he said.
It is believed that Prem stood to gain nearly R4-million in insurance payouts against his wife’s life and had also inherited a substantial amount after the death of his first wife, Neetha, whom he was also accused of murdering.
Neetha was found dead in a shipping container the family lived in while their house was being refurbished.
Prem and his son Jordan were accused of her murder but were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: East man in court over missing wife
During bail proceedings, Dawn’s daughter Denise said Prem’s son Jordan kept emptying the bins and moving things around in the house Prem shared with Dawn.
This was on the day Dawn was reported missing to the police.
She said Jordan kept going to the garage and “talking privately”.
Dawn’s body was still to be been found, but police said they had forensic evidence that suggested that she was murdered and that her husband was responsible.
The family, with the help of the police, have led several searches in the Erasmia and Germiston without any success.
The case has been postponed to 23 November for further investigations.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Second search for east missing woman yields no body
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