'I'M SORRY' - Accused charged with wife's murder abandons bail

A BONTEHEUWEL family has been left deeply divided after a man accused of stabbing his wife to death abandoned his bail bid, with his relatives rallying behind him while the slain woman’s family insists he should remain behind bars.

Riedewaan Birch returned to the dock at the Bishop Lavis Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for his bail application.

The court heard that the State was opposing his release on bail as the accused faces a Schedule 5 offence after allegedly stabbing his wife, Shireena Birch, to death.

She died on 3 February at their home in Assegaai Avenue, Bonteheuwel.

The accused was called to the witness box to testify in his bid for bail, however things took a dramatic turn after he called his Legal Aid representative and told the court that he decided to abandon his bail.

As he left the dock, he looked at the gallery where his family and Shireena’s were seated and said, ‘I’m sorry.’

Outside the courtroom, emotions ran high as both the accused and the deceased’s family.

Family members of the accused told the Daily Voice that after they visited him at Goodwood prison earlier in the week, he said he felt broken for what he did and that he wanted to kill himself.

They said: “It is difficult for us, because we are two but one family going through this pain together, and we are here to support him because he is our blood.

“We also don’t appreciate how the community is portraying him as a monster. He feels remorseful, and he is taking responsibility, as we saw he chose to abandon his bail.

“We can’t speak for him, but he does feel bad because he did hand himself over and he lost his other half who he was in a marriage with for more than 30 years.”

Meanwhile, Shireena’s brother said they were glad that he was not out on bail, as their first thoughts were where he would be staying.

He said: “He’s better off inside, although it still won’t bring our sister back. His facial expressions don’t show any remorse, and whatever words he says to his family are just a way for them to feel sorry for him, but it is not working on us.”

The case was postponed to 4 June for further investigation and the outcome of the post-mortem report.