By Jethro Mullen and Richard Greene
(CNN) — A judge threw out a high-profile murder case Monday against Shrien Dewani, who was accused of killing his wife while they were on honeymoon in South Africa.
Judge Jeanette Traverso called the state’s case “weak” and said evidence fell “far below” the standard needed for conviction.
It took years for prosecutors to bring him to trial over the killing of his wife, Anni.
Dewani, 34, was accused of hiring hit men to kill her in Cape Town in November 2010.
He has repeatedly denied orchestrating the murder, pleading not guilty at the start of the trial in October.
South African authorities were locked in a three-year court battle to get Dewani extradited from the UK to face trial.
But after the prosecution put forward their witnesses, the defense sought to have the charges dropped, citing a lack of evidence.
‘Discrepancies’ between witnesses
“There were some significant discrepancies between their versions of events,” said CNN Legal Analyst Kelly Phelps, referring to the prosecution’s witnesses.
“What the judge will need to decide is whether, from the few witnesses they’ve heard, there is enough essential content in common in their version of events to at least provide a reasonable possibility that they may be telling the truth,” Phelps said.
The killing took place during a taxi ride through a township on the edge of Cape Town, just over two weeks after the couple’s wedding.
The taxi driver, Zola Tongo, confessed within weeks of the bride’s death that he had hired two men to kill her. In a plea deal with South African authorities, he said he was paid by Dewani to carry out the murder and to make it look as though the couple were the victims of a carjacking.
Tongo was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison for his part in the killing. His two accomplices are also received lengthy sentences for their role in the crime. One of them died of brain cancer in October, The Guardian reported.
Family hoping for answers
Dewani, a care home owner, had returned to the United Kingdom after his wife’s death. He avoided extradition to South Africa on mental health grounds during a lengthy court battle, but was eventually sent back in April to face trial.
Psychiatric experts had said that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and that he’d tried to take his life. Before his extradition, he was held at a secure mental health unit in southwest England.
But in August, he was declared fit to stand trial after undergoing psychiatric observation, according to South African media.
An indictment in the case said he faces charges including conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and kidnapping, the South African Press Association reported.
Dewani, from Bristol in southwest England, has said his wife was the victim of a carjacking and denies any involvement in the killing.
The-CNN-Wire
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