Son's chilling message to his murderous father after he was found guilty of pushing his disabled wife into a lake and leaving her to drown
- Peter Rex Dansie was found guilty for the murder of disabled wife Helen Dansie
- In 2017 Ransie pushed his wheelchair bound wife into a pond where she died
- He pleaded not guilty to the murder but was convicted in an Adelaide court
- His son Grant Dansie disowned his father after the guilty conviction
Peter Rex Dansie, who killed his wheelchair-bound wife by pushing her into a pond in Adelaide, is guilty of a 'despicable, cold and callous' crime, his son has told a court.
Dansie was found guilty in December of the murder of his wife Helen, 67, by pushing her wheelchair into a pond at Veale Gardens, in the Adelaide parklands, in 2017.
In a victim impact statement read to the South Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday, his son Grant said it was a relief when his father was convicted.
Peter Rex Dansie (pictured left), who killed his wheelchair-bound wife Helen Dansie (pictured right) by pushing her into a pond in Adelaide, was found guilty of her 2017 death
Outside court his son Grant Dansie (pictured right) wouldn't even refer to Dansie as his father and instead said he was 'sickened' to imagine his mother's final moment's
'I'm glad that Peter Dansie has been finally found guilty after the despicable, cold and callous crime,' Grant Dansie said.
'It was sickening to think how mum spent her last moments. I truly hope he receives the harshest sentence he deserves.
'He has at no point shown any compassion or remorse over her death.
'I have no words for Peter Dansie because he does not comprehend the callousness and brutality of his crime.'
During his trial, the court heard Dansie told police he briefly climbed into the pond after his wife fell in, but got out to call triple zero.
Share this article
He told an operator he tried to keep Mrs Dansie's head above water and manoeuvre her to the edge of the pond in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue her.
But prosecutors argued it was no accident that Mrs Dansie's wheelchair ended up in the pond, and that her husband's story was implausible.
On Tuesday, prosecutor Jim Pearce QC called for Dansie to receive a non-parole period higher than the mandatory minimum of 20 years, arguing the killing was far from at the lower end of objective seriousness
'This was a premeditated murder. He pushed her in,' Mr Pearce said.
However, defence counsel Greg Mead said Dansie had cared for his wife for 20 years after she suffered a stroke and because of his health issues, even the mandatory minimum sentence would probably exceed his expected lifespan.
Dansie pushed his disabled wife Helen (pictured) into a pond at Veale Gardens, in the Adelaide parklands, in 2017, before calling triple zero and claiming he had tried to rescue her
Dansie pleaded not guilty to the death but was found guilty of murder with Justice Lovell revealing all 'four elements of murder' had been proven beyond reasonable doubt (the scene of the murder)
Dansie, 71, had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but it was found proved by Justice David Lovell after a trial by judge alone.
Justice Lovell ruled that all four elements of murder had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
'To put it another way, I find that Mr Dansie, deliberately and with intent to kill Mrs Dansie, pushed her wheelchair, in which she was sitting, into the pond in the gardens,' he said.
'As a result of that action, Mrs Dansie drowned in the pond.'
In his statement, Grant Dansie said he and his mother were extremely close but his father's 'heinous actions' had taken her away.
'She did whatever she could to ensure I had a good life and to protect me from Peter Dansie,' he said.
'Unfortunately, I wasn't able to protect her from Peter Dansie.'
Dansie will be sentenced later this month.
In his statement, Grant Dansie said he and his mother were extremely close but his father's (pictured) 'heinous actions' had taken her away
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
