Anni Dewani's murder - what could the motive be?

[Komondor]

I am aware that Shrien is innocent until proven guilty - but if he is proved guilty what are his motives?

From what I understand:

1. It is an arranged marriage (introduced by a cousin of Anni's), but not forced. It was up to the couple whether or not they married.
   

1. There is no life insurance on her life.
   

1. According to her father there was no dowry.
   

By all accounts she was a lovely person, and clearly very beautiful. Why would you want her killed on honeymoon?

[Flowerbomb]

Hello, I wondered this myself this morning actually. Such a really sad story.

Something isn't quite right about this but from what you hear about SA the legal/police systems are totally different to ours. There was the initial reporting that there was no evidence of sexual abuse then reports stated she was in a state of undress when she was found etc. It seems that a lot of the way the SA government are handling this is in a way to not affect tourism - so you can't really tell what is fact or not, especially when you hear of suspects being beaten and tortured into confessing.

The only reason I could think of was if it was an arranged marriage and breaking it off would bring shame on his family which you do hear of as being an enormous thing in some families/cultures.

Apparently there was going to be a court hearing at 2pm today so I wonder what the outcome of that was.

[Komondor]

Seems crazy that a taxi driver picks you up from your airport, and as soon as your wifes back turned, you ask him to arrange your wife's murder??

Where else in the world, would the likely response be for taxi driver to put plan into action - than South Africa. If what the taxi driver is saying is true.

I thought it might be that Shrien has another girlfriend/ or even a boyfriend, and was coerced into marriage, but I suspect another lover would have been dug up and in the press by now?

It is not as if he is being forced into a marriage with someone who is unattractive or unintelligent.

Surely on a romantic honeymoon and a fortnight into marriage, you have not fallen out to the extent, that your husband wants you dead.

The only motive I could think of, is that if taxi driver's claims are true, then Shrien is a sick egotistical psychopath....

[Gotabookaboutit]

I'm confused, I must say as who in their right mind would approach some random hotel worker? And very subjectively they both look very happy in their wedding photo and very well 'matched'

[AlpinePony]

The only thing I can think of in light of them apparently returning from their wedding in India and her in tears on the plane and refusing to sit next to him - is that she discovered he's knobbing half of Bristol and wasn't about to tolerate that. The Swedes don't take kindly to sticking baby in the corner.

[lucky1979]

The only possible thing I could think of was that he planned to sell his story, maybe a book or something? Would explain the sudden hiring of Max Clifford the day after it happened. That's pretty farfetched though.

Or maybe she'd cheated on him or something and he only found out after the wedding? I have no idea, it doesn't make much sense, but then, not much of the story does.

[Themasterandmargaritas]

There is definitely something fishy. You don't just decide to go into a township in SA, shortly after you have arrived, to see 'the real Africa' with a random taxi driver. It doesn't add up.

Also why hire Max Clifford, of all people? Why not just get a good lawyer? Why did his lawyer in SA quit suddenly?

[Unwind]

IIRC, her friends said that she had spent time in Kenya and Nigeria, and that they did not believe she would ask to go to a township late at night to see the real africa.

It is all very strange.

[Komondor]

What makes me think he may be guilty is that when it was first in the papers, he said Anni had suggested late night visit to township. Apparently this was questioned by her family and friends, as it was out of character for Anni (her family had gone to Sweden as asylum seekers from Uganda, she was apparently street wise with a degree in engineering), and Shrien then changed his story to it being taxi drivers suggestion? His change of story was about the time the taxi driver had been implicated in the murder.

Yes they look so well matched and happy in the photos, hard to comprehend he would want her dead.

Yes Lucky1979, it crossed my mind that he want to sell his story. But still, very high risk strategy to raise a few quid?

[Komondor]

Just thought of a possible motive. I'm not at all knowledgeble on hindu culture, but preseumably the girl should be a virgin when getting married?

Perhaps he found our she had had a previous boyfriend?

Saying that, Shrien was born and raised in UK, and Anni in Sweden - perhaps being virgin is not an issue in this day and age??

[Unwind]

Can Hindus be divorced?

[Komondor]

I'm pretty sure all religions can get divorced in the UK.

I have just arrived at a motive, which I think could fit. Although he did not have life insurance, there is usually a payment on death from travel insurance, albeit much less.

He is a sociopath, and was short of ready cash (business heavily leveraged), and wanted the lump sum from her travel insurance, and could not afford to keep a wife and children (perhaps the wedding present from her father was not as generous as he would like) at the present time. Also, as a sociopath, perhaps his educated wife answered back to him too much.

[Unwind]

who knows?

they were not actually married, so divorce laws would not make a difference

but I wonder whether there is a great deal of stigma around "divorce" within the Hindu community

[BooBooGlass]

Komondor, why are you so interested in all this speculation? It's all in very bad taste

[thegrudge]

The DH isn't the next of kin so possibly wouldn't benefit from insurance anyway.

Its very odd. His story doesn't add up but why risk life in a SA jail for nothing. Its a huge risk just asking some random taxi driver to help you assasinate someone. Why not just push her off the balcony?

[Chil1234]

RSA is a lovely place but carjackings, robberies and shootings are not uncommon. So it's not unreasonable to imagine a dodgy taxi-driver picking up a wealthy-looking young couple of tourists, planting the idea in their minds of visiting the 'real South Africa' and driving them into a robbery ambush which ends up in murder. The 'it was his idea guv' plea-bargain defence goes with the territory. The alternative hypothesis... that a newlywed stranger to South Africa finds a gang willing to carry out a contract killing and expects no-one to make the link afterwards... is more 'possible' than 'probable'.

[Unwind]

whatever happened - it was extremely unlikely and implausible

truth often being stranger than fiction

[Komondor]

Chil1234 good point. I agree the ambush is more plausible, with Shrien not involved.

I just don't understand why you would say it was your wife's idea to go to township and then change your story to taxi driver's suggestion.

Boobooglass, my interest is just that I have been reading about it in the papers, and thought it sounded suspicious for the husband (changing story), but I couldnt comprehend why he would risk having her killed by a stranger. I just wondered what everyone else was thinking.

[MmeLindt]

Jesus. This is in incredibly bad taste.

It is not a murder mystery. Prof Green in the Billiard Room with the Candlestick.

It is the life and death of a young woman.

[Komondor]

It's terribly sad what happened, and I hope RSA police get to the bottom of it.

The only definite truth is that a young woman has tragically lost her life, the rest is hypothesising.

I did not think there was anything wrong with us discussing the case though? However, if you think it is bad taste, and after all Shrien is innocent till proven guilty, I'll sign out.

[Niceguy2]

I know someone who was at the wedding, who is in actual fact a relative of Anni. I don't want to say anymore on whom as I don't want this to be linked but let me just say that her family would be incredibly surprised if it was Shrien.

SA is better than most African countries but even there, the concept of justice is not something we'd recognise. I doubt he'd get a fair trial there.

It just doesn't add up. Why would you have your wife murdered on your honeymoon? Why ask a taxi driver? "can you take us for a drive mate....oh and would it be possible to kill my wife too?"

That versus the more likely fact the taxi driver's been beaten to within an inch of his life, tortured then offered a lesser sentence if he can pin the blame on someone else.

As for why Max Clifford, the McCanns hired him too. I suppose you think they murdered Maddie too?

[vanitypear]

I don't believe it for a second. The driver has been offered a plea deal and SA needs this to be true or it will devastate their tourism industry (so much better if it was set up by the wicked foreigner). I don't think the cultural issue is at all relevant to modern Hindu families.

[vanitypear]

good post Niceguy - totally agree.

[nearlytoolate]

I agree I can see far more motive for a) the taxi driver to lie, he is not going to get out of it so his only hope is to plea bargain and pin the blame on the husband and b) the SA authorities to collude in this (knowingly or otherwise) as this is the outcome that does least damage to the tourism industry.

So I'd be very very cautious about accepting that this is likely to be true.

[Niceguy2]

I've been to a few African countries and trust me when I say that if I got into difficulties, the last people I'd want to come to my aid are the police.

Often they're little more than armed thugs.

Like I say, SA is lot better but still nowhere near western European standards.

[Ripeberry]

I've been to South Africa and we went to the Addo Elephant reserve a few miles from Cape Town and all around the reserve there were enormous shanty towns and we had to drive right through the middle of one of them.

We got there quite late in the afternoon and it was getting dark and we decided to go in as a convoy, our friends in their big 4X4 in front, us in the middle in our little hire car and some other friends bringing up the rear in a pick up.

As we drove through, all the youths started to throw things at us and some got in their 'wreck' of a car to try and chase us, but it would not start (thank goodness).
That was very scary! And this was in the DAYTIME!

Something VERY dodgy about Shrien's story, the truth will come out soon enough.