A 33-year-old man from Nyanga appeared in the Somerset West Magistrates’ Court on a murder charge following the death of his wife, whose body was found in Macassar more than three months ago.

The accused was arrested on Friday 28 August and made his first court appearance last Monday (31 August).

The matter was postponed for a formal bail application to Tuesday (8 September). However, the outcome was not yet available at the time of going to print.

The body of the deceased was discovered along Macassar Road on the evening of Friday 29 May.

According to a Macassar police spokesperson, the woman was found with multiple gunshot wounds, including to the face and neck, near the sand mines around 20:00. A projectile was recovered.

At the time of discovery the 34-year-old could not be immediately identified. She was wearing a green jacket, blue jeans and black shoes. Police later found a bank card in one of her pockets, which gave rise to her positive identification.

According to police the deceased had left her marital home in Nyanga the week before and was living in Mfuleni at the time. She and the accused had wed in December last year.

The accused reportedly told relatives he had last seen his wife when she left their home. However, community members allegedly reported seeing a blue Toyota Rumion at the scene earlier that evening.

Police established a vehicle matching that description belonged to the accused, who reportedly owned three such vehicles.

Police further followed-up on information that the accused picked the deceased from her workplace in Epping around 14:30 on the same day.

This information, according to police, was corroborated by security-camera footage and two colleagues who apparently needed a lift. Vehicle-tracker data reportedly placed the accused’s vehicle at the scene on the same day.

The accused remains in custody pending the bail application.