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?

The problem is that there are too many things that don't add up with the story and so it's bound to cause suspicion, here and in SA.

The husband has not done himself any favours in hiring max Clifford too, why would you think you need a publicist a day after the horrific murder of your wife?

Can believe that the sa authorities would like to see the husband found guilty. Better for tourism than a random attack. Not sure he'd get a fair trial.

Well, if it was him, then he wouldn't be the first husband to arrange for his wife to be killed. it is I think statistically the most likely scenario.
But the motive is so strong for the taxi driver to be lying that its just impossible to know. There isn't much actual evidence is there? So I guess we'll never know the truth.

We stayed at the same hotel in Cape Town, and they employ drivers to take you anywhere within a certain radius. Not sure why they would need hire someone independently. It certainly doesn't add up from what we read, but then none of us know the 'true' story. We went around a township in Johannesburg in the daytime, with a guide, but they said they would never go in the evening. They also said never to trust the police - just pay the bribe

So sad.

Niceguy2 - I was only half watching but I think the taxi driver was shown in court on the news and there's no way he'd been beaten or tortured into anything. He looked healthy and unmarked.

Maybe the simplest explanation that he's lying to save himself is the true one.

And as far as the tourism thing goes, really, how much more good do they honestly think it would do to drag out the story further by falsely implicating the husband? Maybe if she was killed in a so-called safe area they might want to show that this is out of the ordinary but it was in a township that most tourists would understand to be no-go areas.

You don't have to beat a guy to force a fake confession. The US & Guantamano inmates have shown that.

Nearlytoolate, husbands ofc have arranged to have their wives killed....but how many do it on their honeymoon?

I read that he was engaged to someone else only a year ago and broke it off abruptly without any explanation. I agree that the virgin theory is plausible, could also be something to do with unpaid dowry money or the fact that his companies were in loads of debt and he had duped her into believing he was financially secure.

It is in bad taste to discuss it I suppose though there seems to be new devts every day so it does read like crime fiction (unfortunately).

I think he is a slimy character who wasn't madly in love with her at all though wanted an eye-candy wife by his side as a status symbol - she probably emerged as being more intelligent, liberated and opinionated than he had bargained for and the cracks had already started to form in the relationship. He probably decided to save his own skin by jumping out of the taxi at the right time - he is a trained accountant and experienced entrepreneur and would know a lot about taking calculated risks. However, I really don't think it would have been in his interests to have it carried out.

Niceguy2 - I was commenting on your post in which you said it was likely he'd been "beaten to within an inch of his life".

I don't think the police add up - they caught the killers/carjackers almost striahgt away - are they really the people that did this.

Also evidence of the gun shot wounds being as if the gun had gone off by mistake

noe of the poilce story adds up and is doegey to say the least

Niceguy2, I agree, as the saying goes there, 'I got mugged last night but I was lucky enough to get away before the police got there...'
I wouldn't trust SA police as far as I could throw them.

I was in Cape Town and read about people being mugged climbing Table Mountain - there were muggers who knew they would be people with cameras, binoculars, money, etc., and were much faster over the terrain, so it's certainly a dangerous place, but as for the carjacking, I think the taxi driver would be pretty streetwise, and it seems that the 'paid hit' is at least as plausible as the three of them getting pulled out of their car in a very dodgy area that nobody would visit, certainly not at night.

and from what I saw they do have a decent police system there, I don't think they are stupid at all. The idea that the taxi driver would get beaten up by the police and make a plea bargain in return for 'only' 18 years in prison doesn't seem particularly plausible.

I met someone who went to school with the husband. Apparently he's a really mild-mannered guy - described as him as sensitive and just a nice simple guy FWIW.

As for having the honeymoon before the legal marriage thing, that's not unusal , particularly when you have a wedding abroad. My friends got married in a Catholic church in Italy but cos she wasn't European, the legalities were really tricky and time consuming so they got legally married a couple of months later and used it as an excuse to have a mini party.

One thing that has confused me is that yesterday on ITV news Max Clifford said Shrien Dewani would do anything to prove his innocence and wants to go to South Africa to get this cleared up once and for all.

Now I am reading that Shrien Dewani is fighting extridition and will not consent to it?? Why?

Mme Lindt: "Jesus" -- that was going to be my first word.

This is lascivious and prurient. Lipsmacking tricoteurs.

As you were.

He has maybe been advised to fight extradition. A night in a South African jail can amount to a death sentence, given the prevalence of both rape and HIV.

What I was trying to say up thread is that whatever happened here was unlikely to have happened. It makes no sense to point the finger at him on the grounds of statistical likelihood prior to an event, in the same way as it made no sense to slander the McCanns. Something happened, which was very unlikely to have happened. All possible explanations/motives are implausible. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

" 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."

The husband has said it was his idea, and then said it was her idea. I'm the one suggesting it was the taxi-driver's idea.... If the whole thing was an ambush set-up between taxi-driver and robbers then it's more likely. In all good cons, you (the victim) don't remember the specifics, just that it seemed to happen organically and that it was a good idea at the time. Not sinister at all.

Hi
As a South African I would like to add a South African outlook to this story if I may.
Firstly South Africa is a very violent country and we have never tried to hide that. Many murders and rapes happen here on a daily basis. Yes we have corrupt police officials here, show me a country that doesnt, and yes it appears to buy a hit on a life is cheap.
However unlike Mr Dewani is claiming South Africa is not trying to protect its reputation, we have little to loose in that respect. It is a well known fact that we have one of the highest crime rates in the world, to the extent that travellers coming into South Africa are warned. Our daily newspapers are full of crimes that have happened in the last 24 hours. So no, our reputation as a safe country never existed to start with. We however did prove that if certain rules are followed and tourists are careful they can have a wonderful holiday here, the World Cup is case and point.

Mr Dewani's story never carried enough weight with the people or the police here. Since we are so used to violent crime, the entire crime didnt fit the normal Modus Operandi of a hijacking. In 95% of the cases of a violent hijackings the driver and victims are abused, robbed and killed to prevent identification. Why this time was the driver and his passenger left unharmed?
Secondly why did Mr Dewani's story keep changing, surely if something that traumatic had happend to you the chain of events would be burnt into your mind forever. Therefore to go from being pushed out of the window of the moving car to later being shoved out of the car door doesnt make sense. The change in the events is too great.
The fact that the police have got the phone records showing that he was in contact with the driver at the time the driver said he was phoned are also being brought into evidence.
My last statement is that the driver really didnt gain much going into a plea bargain, he got a couple of years reduced off his sentence. Ultimately his chances of walking out of prison in 18 years time without having contracted AIDS or having a serious drug habbit are low and every SA person would know this. There is no plea bargain for other suspects so they gained nothing.
The legal system in this country is fair albeit slow. Mr Dewani would receive every bit as fair a trail here as he would in the UK. We are a rather advanced country unlike Mr Dewani is now saying, odd that he says it now, why would you take your wife to such a place if you thought the people were all animals and the infrastructure non-existent.

As I sais this is just my SA perspective. However I agree there are holes in the story. Like arriving at the airport and asking the taxi driver to arrange a hit. That is a very brave question to ask someone you have just met in country in the world.

Lastly I feel if he is as innocent as he says he should just come here and prove it and give this poor girls family some rest.

Lets see what time reveals

Endeavour.

Yes, coming to SA and asking a complete stranger to arrange a killing seems very far fetched.

To begin with I just assumed the taxi driver had orchestrated it, and they'd let Shrien out of the taxi so as to rape Anni.

This seemed much more logical than Shrien being involved, it's Shrien's changes in story that make it suspicious.

Komondor

Unfortunatly the sad reality in this country is that if a female victim is involved in a violent hijacking (not a smash and grab) they are normally raped.
Thank goodness this appears not to have been the case with Anni Dewani, but it did also not fit in with the usual MO of a hijacking.

Talking about this case is in no less bad taste that discussing Wikileaks or the war in the Ivory Coast. It is a news topic and unless someone is being offensive or gruesome I feel respect is being shown

I would assume that most criminals would throw the occupants out of the car (after taking their valuables), on the basis that the police would probably not have the resources to look into the crime. You would then have the car and money, and would most likely get away scott free.

Alternatively you would kill them both, so as no witnesses, and as you say probably rape the women first. However it does seem high risk to kill both or even one, when they are tourists, with the publicity that follows.

I thought the husband had just been lucky to survive initially. However changes in story, and unusual circumstances of hijack throw questions. It just seems preposterous that an intelligent man, would orchestrate such a crime.

Perhaps most likely explanation is that rather than fight to get Anni out, she was being held down, and he jumped out of moving car to save his own skin, and did not want to admit it??

As you say the taxi driver did not have much to gain from his accusations, as he has still ended up with an 18 year jail sentence.

Hopefully the truth will prevail for Anni and her family.

Two things I find distinctly odd here is firstly why you'd want to go to a township at night and secondly why a taxi driver apparently used to working with an upmarket company (and therefore used to transporting tourists) would agree to take you.

Maybe if the real answers to these questions are made available the whole incident would be less of a mystery.

I've been to SA twice in the last couple of years both times on my own with my young ds (2 first time and 5 second time). I travelled around the country on my own and never had any problems at all. I visited a township too. The difference being that I drove there on my own during the day to meet a friend who runs a charity. Never had any problems at all and both myself, ds and our car were unharmed. In fact ds can't wait to go back to play with the township children - who weren't bothered that his skin was a different colour and he had shoes, whereas they didn't.

We also visited a beach where we were in the minority - not a tourist place. Again ds made friends with local children and spent the day playing with them.

I feel sad that this incident happened so soon after SA got such good publicity for the world cup. It is a dangerous country and I wouldn't drive at night but if you are sensible it is a beautiful place.

Mme Lindt and Applestrees - agree with you both

And the ignorant musings by some about the cultural motives for the murder are pretty dispicable too.

I think the thing that bothers me the most above all about the entire story is that it doesnt seem like he even put up a struggle. I would imagine so soon after getting married that they would be madly in love. Most normal men would be super protective about their new wives, well actually most normal men would be protective about their wife no matter how long they have been married. You would imagine that he could have refused to leave the car without her or at least to have put up a fight in the process. I personally would rather fight for my husband's life than walk away.
So that leaves us with about conclusions

1. He was involved in her murder?
2. He was a coward and just left her because he feared for his own life more than hers?
3. He actually believed them that they would release her (still there should have been a bit of a stuggle about it)

The man who helped him phone the police has gone on record saying that Mr Dewani had no dust on his clothes and that they werent even slightly rumpled.

MollieO - great to hear that you have been here and have had such positive experiences, its a breath of fresh air in light of what the media is making SA sound like