Peter Rex Dansie found guilty of murdering wife, Helen, in city pond
A “greedy, callous, cold-hearted” Adelaide man has been found guilty of murdering his wheelchair-bound wife in a city pond in 2017 — a crime her family believes could’ve been prevented.
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Peter Rex Dansie has been found guilty of murdering his wheelchair-dependant wife, Helen – a crime the couple’s son says could have been prevented by government authorities.
Outside the Supreme Court on Friday, Grant Dansie said the Public Advocate and SACAT must listen to the families of vulnerable people to stop future tragedies.
He said his “greedy, callous, cold-hearted father” was never challenged over his chronic neglect of Helen, who was fantastic, intelligent and warm-hearted”.
“My beautiful mother belonged to three vulnerable groups – she was elderly, disabled and a victim of domestic violence,” he said.
“She didn’t just fall through a crack, she fell through gaping holes in the system … the tragedy of my mum’s death is a warning for society and the government.
“We needed your help to protect her from my monster of a father, but your help never came … there will be other people asking for your help now – please, listen to them.”
There were audible gasps of relief in court when Dansie, 70, was found guilty of murdering Helen, 67, by pushing her into a Veale Gardens pond in April 2017.
She was disabled due to a stroke – Dansie has long claimed her wheelchair accidentally went into the pond and she drowned despite his attempts to save her.
THE DANSIE TRIAL
THE CHARGE: ‘Wife was a burden killer would no longer tolerate’
THE DISCOVERY: Husband ‘seemed calm’ about wife’s drowning
THE SON: ‘Mum was always dirty … I wore a wire to talk to Dad’
THE ACCIDENT: Murder suspect falls, hits head, during trial
THE MISTRIAL: Judge ‘undermined’ right to silence, lawyer says
THE REVIVAL: New judge spares taxpayers $325,000 in costs
THE RECORDING: Alleged killer had ‘been told pretty strongly not to comment’
THE SEX TRYSTS: Secrecy orders lifted on Dansie murder trial
Prosecutors alleged he threw her into the water because she was “a burden he was no longer prepared to tolerate”.
They said that, in the six-minute call to triple-0, Dansie was asked 12 times to roll Helen over or lift her head out of the water – he refused each time.
Prosecutors alleged he neglected her care, refused to spend money on her needs and fought with her extended family – and the couple’s own son – over her finances.
They further accused him of embarked on “a course of deception and subterfuge” to avoid arrest, including refusing to answer his estranged son’s questions about the incident.
Late in the trial – which was at one stage aborted due to complaints a judge had “undermined” Dansie’s right to silence – longstanding secrecy orders were lifted.
It then emerged prosecutors also alleged that, both before and after Helen’s death, Dansie had engaged in online sex trysts with women in China.
They alleged he intended to travel to see them a month after the drowning, carrying condoms, Viagra, lingerie and sex toys in his luggage.
Dansie’s counsel, meanwhile, argued their client’s actions were only “sinister” if “one presumes he is guilty”.
They said his “unusual personality” explained much of his disconnect with investigators and paramedics.
In his verdict on Friday, Justice David Lovell rejected those assertions and found Dansie was:
OBSESSED with his ongoing Public Advocate battle for a carer’s pension and control of Helen’s assets.
DISMISSIVE of the concerns of his estranged son and his wife’s relatives.
NOT prepared to “spend any of what he considered his money” on improving her quality of life.
HAD a “very keen interest” in pursuing sexual relationships with women in China.
“Dansie does have an unusual personality (but) I do not accept that explains, or totally explains, his lack of distress and emotion,” he said.
“His conversations reflect a lack of care and empathy for his wife and a preoccupation or obsession with money.
“I am unable to accept that his personality provides a complete explanation for his lack of distress over the death of his wife of over 40 years.”
He said Dansie’s version of events was “inherently implausible”, as there was “simply no reason” for him to place Helen “in a place which was clearly unsafe”.
“Dansie committed an act or acts that were voluntary, conscious and deliberate, namely pushing (Helen), who was seated in her wheelchair, into the pond.
“At the time he committed the act which caused the death of (Helen), Dansie had a specific intention to kill her.”
Justice Lovell revoked Dansie’s bail and remanded him in custody to face sentencing submissions in February.
Because murder carries with it a 20-year minimum term, it is almost inevitable that Dansie will die in jail.
Outside court, Grant Dansie said he was satisfied with that eventuality.
“I think that’s fine, I think (jail) is where he deserves to be and I’m quite happy about that,” he said.
“With the 20-year minimum, in any case he will die in jail – whatever happens, he will die in jail.”
He said Helen was “a truly amazing person” who was “funny, smart and had a huge heart”.
“Her murder was a tragedy and we miss her every day … I am glad that we achieved justice for mum,” he said.
“This was a horrible act – cold-heartedly killing a disabled woman to enrich oneself … the greed, callousness and lack of humanity was despicable.”
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