Killer husband Peter Rex Dansie to serve at least 25 years’ jail for drowning murder of wife Helen

Killer husband Peter Rex Dansie will serve at least 25 years behind bars for the calculated drowning murder of his wife Helen in a city pond.

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Peter Rex Dansie will serve at least 25 years behind bars for the calculated drowning murder of his wife Helen – a crime deemed, by a judge, to be “the ultimate act of domestic violence”.

Dansie showed little reaction as the Supreme Court on Thursday imposed the sentence, acknowledging it all but guaranteed he would die in jail.

Justice David Lovell said there could be no mercy extended to the greedy, money-obsessed killer who neglected his wife’s needs, then ended her life when she became “a burden” on his finances.

Helen Dansie died after she was drowned in a city pond by her husband Peter. Picture: Supplied

“Driven by selfish motives, you planned how you would kill your wife and then cover up your crime,” he said.

“Yours was an evil and despicable act... Helen, your loving and devoted wife of over 40 years, had simply become a burden to you.

“That simple statement underscores the vicious and callous nature of your act... this was the chilling, premeditated murder of a person whose mistake was to trust you.

“This was the ultimate act of domestic violence.”

Speaking from his home in The Netherlands, Helen’s son Grant said he was “very satisfied” that “justice had been done”.

However, he said the State Government still had to address systemic failures that left “the most vulnerable” at the mercy of predators like his father.

“I hope to see a thorough review of how the government deals with their rights to fill the deep holes in a system that is supposed to protect them,” he said.

Dansie, 71, murdered Helen by pushing her – and the wheelchair in which she was seated – into a Veale Gardens pond in 2017.

He has appealed against that conviction and the rejection of his continued claim the incident was an accident and that he did not plan to murder her.

In his verdict last year, Justice Lovell found Dansie was obsessed with controlling Helen and her assets, and dismissive of concerns over her health and welfare.

Peter Rex Dansie will serve at least 25 years behind bars. Picture: Matt Loxton

He found Dansie was not prepared to “spend any of what he considered his money” on improving her quality of life.

Instead, he ruled, Dansie preferred to pursue his “very keen interest” in having sexual relationships with women in China.

Grant Dansie – who is trying to safeguard his mother’s financial legacy – dubbed his father “callous, brutal” and undeserving of mercy.

In sentencing, Justice Lovell said the murder was “clearly premeditated” but it would never be known when Dansie’s desire to be rid of Helen “hardened into a definite plan of action”.

“You took Helen on what she thought was a lovely social outing... clearly she trusted you, and had no idea of your true, malevolent intent,” he said.

He paid tribute to Helen, saying her murder would continue to affect those who loved her the most.

“She was a loving and caring person, she was a much-loved mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend,” he said.

“The emotional and financial strain the murder, by a person who was supposed to care for Helen, has put her friends and family through is significant.

“The harrowing thought of how she spent her last few minutes alive will undoubtedly linger and haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

Justice Lovell jailed Dansie for life, backdating both the sentence and non-parole period to his conviction in December last year.

Outside court, Helen’s cousin, Grant Battersby, commended both the sentence and the work of SA Police and prosecutors.

“We hope that this stiff sentence will serve as a deterrent to others like Peter Dansie, whose toxic ego (lets them) think they can just dispose of people who become a financial burden to them,” he said.

“Peter Dansie carefully, coldly and callously planned Helen’s murder over weeks and months ... he probably did not expect to be caught and punished.”

He said Dansie’s appeal “shows that he still does not accept his own guilt” and was without remorse.

“Helen’s family and friends mourn her and the shocking manner of her death at the hands of a man desperate to control her money ... no time will heal that scar,” he said.

“But Peter Dansie’s sentence, thoroughly deserved, may help protect other vulnerable people.

“As Helen’s son, Grant, has said, she suffered from failures of the system which was not there to help somebody like her.

“She was triply vulnerable – through disability, age and gender.”