An Adelaide man who killed his wheelchair-user wife by pushing her into a pond has had his second appeal against a life sentence rejected in court.
Peter Rex Dansie was found guilty in December 2020 of the murder of his wife Helen, 67, by pushing her wheelchair into a pond in Veale Gardens, in the Adelaide parklands, in 2017.
His son Grant Dansie said he feels like “justice has finally been served after so many years” with an appeals court today rejecting his father’s second bid for freedom.
Peter Dansie has always claimed that he accidentally pushed the wheelchair into the pond and jumped in to try to save his wife.
In a hearing that lasted less than 30 seconds, the court ruled that has always been a lie.
Grant Dansie told 9News he was “really, really happy to get it over and done with”.
His mother, Helen drowned in the shallow parklands pond after she was pushed in.
“We saw from the first court case he refused to testify, wasn’t willing to engage at all and say what happened,” Grant Dansie said outside court.
“There was no story as to how mum entered the water at that time, or what happened afterwards”.
Peter Dansie was believed to have had personal and financial motives to kill his wife.
At the time of his wife’s death, Dansie had a suitcase packed and it was believed he intended to fly to China to pursue a relationship with a woman he met online.
He had also immediately claimed his wife’s insurance money.
Their son Grant said the last seven years had taken both an emotional and financial toll.
“Emotionally it’s always there, it’s always behind you,” he said.
“Financially, we’ve got to come back and forth to Australia.”
The court’s decision today means Dansie will serve all of his minimum 25 years and will likely die in jail.
