South Africa court acquits British millionaire accused of honeymoon murder plot

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- British millionaire and businessman Shrien Dewani was cleared of murder charges Monday by a judge in Cape Town.

Dewani had been accused of hiring hit men to kill his wife, 28-year-old Anni Dewani, while she was riding in a taxi in Cape Town two weeks after their wedding in November 2010.

The taxi driver, Zola Tongo, confessed in 2010 that Dewani paid him to stage a carjacking and kill his wife. Tongo was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and his two accomplices were also given lengthy sentences.

Dewani maintained his innocence, insisting that his wife's death was the result of a carjacking and that he had no role in her death.

The ruling came in the midst of the trial, after the prosecution had presented its evidence over a six-week period and before the defense responded. Cape Town judge Jeanette Traverso explained in her ruling that the prosecution had failed to make its case and therefore the defense had no reason to give evidence.

The prosecution's reliance on testimony from the men who confessed their involvement in Anni's murder, she said, was "so riddled with contradictions, mistakes, lies and inconsistencies that I can all but ignore them."

Evidence connecting Dewani to his wife's death was insufficient, the judge concluded, and conviction could only have been secured by a confession.

Dewani's family embraced after the judge announced the verdict, one that cannot be appealed.

His wife's family released a statement that said "We feel really, really sad because we have not heard the full story. Shrien lived a double life."

Dewani was extradited in April from England to face trial in South Africa, an extradition that was delayed due to his hospitalization for mental health issues that apparently included depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In August, following psychiatric evaluation, he was found fit to stand trial.