Adelaide Man "Pushed Wife Into Pond" Court Hears

An Adelaide man murdered his wife by deliberately pushing her wheelchair into a pond, a court has heard.

Peter Rex Dansie is facing a Supreme Court trial over the death of his wife, Helen, in 2017.

Opening the prosecution case on Tuesday, Jim Pearce QC said Helen Dansie had become a cost burden to her husband.

He said the accused took out two $15,000 final expenses insurance policies for him and his wife, and he tried to claim the payout four days after she died.

Mr Pearce said Dansie told police he had taken his wife to Veale Gardens to watch the sunset, but his account was implausible.

He said, on Dansie's version of events, Mrs Dansie's wheelchair had been parked the opposite way to the direction of the sunset.

"It is as a result of his hand that she and the wheelchair ended up in that pond," he said.

Mr Pearce said the accused got into the water to feign an attempt to rescue his wife but told an emergency operator he could not save her because the water was too cold.

The trial continues before Justice David Peek.

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