Alleged wife killer Dwight Bowes will go on trial at the Western Cape High Court this year for the murder of his wife, Abenise.
The 39-year-old man attended his first pre-trial hearing at the Western Cape High Court on Friday where he faces charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
Wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans, the man accused of killing his wife because she wanted to leave him appeared calm before Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe.
Dwight was busted last year following a two-year investigation into the death of the young mom who was allegedly beaten and buried in a shallow grave on a veldjie near her Lotus River home.
Officers from the Anti-Gang Unit and Grassy Park SAPS 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 Bowes.
Bowes was released on R5000 bail by Magistrate Goolam Bawa during his first appearance at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on 4 November and he was warned to stay away from more than 10 state witnesses, some of whom are his own relatives, and who are expected to give testimony on what happened on the day Abenise went missing.
Her relatives told the Daily Voice that after 10 years of marriage, Abenise had finally decided to leave Dwight who had allegedly abused her.
The matter resumes on 17 April.