More than two years after her death, the husband of Abenise Bowes has been arrested and charged with murdering the young mom and burying her in a shallow grave just metres away from her home in Lotus River.
Cops say they finally obtained enough evidence to arrest the 39-year-old man who some say was the main suspect all along.
Shortly after 4am, officers from the Anti-Gang Unit and Grassy Park Police Station descended on the couple’s home in Farm Crescent and trapped the suspect inside his house.
The body of Abenise, 30, was found face down in a hole on 2 April 2017, just days after she was reported missing by her husband, Dwight Bowes.
At the time, a relative had told the Daily Voice that her children and close relatives were taken to Tygerberg Hospital for DNA sampling and their worst fears were confirmed when they were informed that it was her body.
CUFFED: Dwight arrested at home. Picture supplied
The relative claimed the couple had been arguing days before her death and on the day she disappeared, she had planned to move out of their home.
According to a source, police were always suspicious of the man’s behaviour.
“From the time he reported her missing to the time her body was found, something was always off with him,” the source says.
“He told us that she just went to work and never came home. On the day her body was found, he didn’t even want to look to see if it’s her; it was like he knew.
“There was never enough evidence, but there is a detective that worked very hard to get statements and found enough proof for the courts to issue a warrant for him.
“On Friday, when we got to his house, he tried to jump over a vibracrete wall, but got a skrik to see all the officers waiting for him to try and escape.
“When we cuffed him, he still denied it, saying he can’t talk because his mind was on what is going to happen when he goes to Pollsmoor.”
Police spokesperson, Mihlali Majikela, confirms a 39-year-old man was arrested after a warrant of arrest was issued.
“Autopsy results revealed that the fatal injuries the deceased sustained were the result of blunt force against her head,” he says.
“He will face charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice, and is expected to make his first court appearance [today] at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court.”