The British millionaire accused of murdering his glamorous bride on their honeymoon has told his murder trial: I am controlling, intense and bisexual, but I did not kill my wife.
Shrien Dewani entered not guilty pleas at the Western Cape High Court, nearly four years after his wife Anni Dewani was gunned down as the pair toured a rough neighbourhood in Cape Town.
Dewani (34) denied any involvement in plotting to kill his wife, who died from a gunshot wound to the neck.
Graphic footage of the crime scene and the prone body of Mrs Dewani was played to the court as the suspect admitted sexual activity with male prostitutes and a history of arguments with his wife during their 18-month romance.
The care home entrepreneur, from Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol, was extradited to South Africa to face trial against a background of lurid allegations about his private life.
Yesterday, he recalled the final words he said to his 28-year-old wife, the last time he saw her alive as carjackers struck during their luxury honeymoon in November 2010.
Dewani's counsel, Francois van Zyl, said a gunman told the defendant to "Look down! Lie down!" Dewani's witness statement said: "We were both terrified and immediately complied with his demands."
He said he pleaded with the attackers to let him and Anni go, but they demanded Dewani's phone. After finding it, Dewani said the man threatened to shoot him. He said Anni was screaming, and he was ordered to keep her quiet.
Dewani said: "The driver said that they were not going to hurt us, they just wanted the car and they were going to let us go separately. I begged them to let us go together."
Dewani said he was ordered to leave the car with a gun to his head. "The last thing I had said to Anni was to be quiet and not to say anything."
The next day Dewani was informed that his wife had been found dead.
Dewani's statement also said: "My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs, including prostitutes."
He also said both he and his wife were "opinionated and liked to control every detail", but that they loved each other.
Shrien Dewani entered not guilty pleas at the Western Cape High Court, nearly four years after his wife Anni Dewani was gunned down as the pair toured a rough neighbourhood in Cape Town.
Dewani (34) denied any involvement in plotting to kill his wife, who died from a gunshot wound to the neck.
Graphic footage of the crime scene and the prone body of Mrs Dewani was played to the court as the suspect admitted sexual activity with male prostitutes and a history of arguments with his wife during their 18-month romance.
The care home entrepreneur, from Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol, was extradited to South Africa to face trial against a background of lurid allegations about his private life.
Yesterday, he recalled the final words he said to his 28-year-old wife, the last time he saw her alive as carjackers struck during their luxury honeymoon in November 2010.
Dewani's counsel, Francois van Zyl, said a gunman told the defendant to "Look down! Lie down!" Dewani's witness statement said: "We were both terrified and immediately complied with his demands."
He said he pleaded with the attackers to let him and Anni go, but they demanded Dewani's phone. After finding it, Dewani said the man threatened to shoot him. He said Anni was screaming, and he was ordered to keep her quiet.
Dewani said: "The driver said that they were not going to hurt us, they just wanted the car and they were going to let us go separately. I begged them to let us go together."
Dewani said he was ordered to leave the car with a gun to his head. "The last thing I had said to Anni was to be quiet and not to say anything."
The next day Dewani was informed that his wife had been found dead.
Dewani's statement also said: "My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs, including prostitutes."
He also said both he and his wife were "opinionated and liked to control every detail", but that they loved each other.
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