UPDATE: Brooklyn man accused of killing wife to be tried in High court

A Brooklyn man accused of killing his wife will be tried in the North Gauteng High Court next year.

Prem Emmanuel Basdeo (58) is accused of murdering his wife of 15 years and disposing of her body in June last year.

The case was transferred to the high court on Tuesday when the state indicated that it was satisfied that it had a solid case against him.

Dawn Basdeo (57) went missing on 4 June and her worried family, led by her husband, opened a missing person’s case at the Brooklyn police station.

Two days later her car was found abandoned in Soweto.

Prem was later arrested and charged with her murder, perjury and defeating the end of justice.

READ MORE: UPDATE: Basdeo ‘murderer’ lied about where he dumped the body, searchers say

The police said they found a bloodied knife and towel in the house Prem shared with his wife.

During his court appearances in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, it was alleged that Basdeo had given the police three versions of how his wife disappeared.

In one statement, read out to the court, it was alleged that the Basdeos had an argument during which she threatened him with a knife and as he wrestled her for the knife, she had accidentally cut herself, fell and died.

The statement given to the investigating officer went on to explain how he wrapped Dawn’s body in a brown blanket, loaded it into a car and disposed of it after a long drive.

While in yet another, he allegedly told investigators his wife took a walk and never returned. When he realised Dawn was missing he panicked and decided to drive her car to Soweto to make it look like a hijacking.

Basdeo denied any wrongdoing, saying his wife’s disappearance weighed heavily on him and he too was searching for her.

READ MORE: UPDATE: State hopes to uncover another suspect in Basdeo murder

He claimed that he had suffered the worst police treatment when he was allegedly slapped by a Brooklyn police officer during his arrest.

Basdeo, a former police officer, was acquitted of murdering his first wife in Durban more than 14 years ago.

Basdeo was a superintendent at the Sydenham police station when his wife’s body was found in a shipping container with a gunshot wound shot to the head.

It was alleged that he incited his son Jordan – then 14 years old – to kill his mother, Neetha.

He and Jordan were charged with the murder, but were found not guilty.

It has been over a year since Dawn disappeared and mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of her remains.

Prem was released on R50 000 bail in November last year.

The trial is expected to run from 24 February 2020 to 6 March 2020.

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