An Adelaide man who murdered his wife by pushing her wheelchair into a pond has died in custody.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Peter Rex Dansie, 74, died on Monday from natural causes, the South Australia Department for Correctional Services said.
"All deaths in custody are subject to a coronial investigation," a spokesperson said.
Dansie was jailed in 2020 for murdering his 67-year-old wife, Helen, who drowned after her wheelchair fell into a pond in the Adelaide parklands on Easter Sunday, 2017.
The Advertiser reported that Dansie died in hospital after being transferred from his prison cell.
Justice David Lovell had imposed a life sentence with a 25-year non-parole period, finding that Dansie's motives were financial, and his desire to pursue a sexual relationship with a woman in China.
Justice Lovell said the crime was "an evil and despicable act of domestic violence".
"Helen, your loving and devoted wife for over 40 years, had simply become a burden to you," he said.
"This was a chilling, planned murder of a person whose mistake was to trust you."
He lost two appeals against his conviction.
Mrs Dansie's body and her wheelchair were recovered from a pond in Veale Gardens.
Dansie claimed she had suffered an accident and he had jumped in to save her.
Australian Associated Press
