Anni Hindocha and Shrien Dewani

0:00 Hi. I'm Tina, and I'm Rich. If there's one thing we've learned in over twenty years of marriage, it's that. Some days you'll feel like killing your. Wife and some days you'll feel like killing your husband. Welcome to love, Mary, Kill, Hey Rich, Hey Tina. How are you? I'm great. How are you doing well? I'm a woman in December, so I am frazzled. There's a lot going on. Oh, there is a lot going You have a lot to do, and I appreciate it. You have a lot to do too, I mean you're just as busy.

0:42 Yeah, but I think being a woman in December is maybe a little more stressful for most women. I appreciate the acknowledgment of that. So it is freezing here in Michigan, like literally freezing, bitter. Got snow on the ground, which is kind of unusual for this time of the year. I think our last couple of Christmases have been green. Yeah, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere. Do you want to tell everyone what you got for your birthday? I got something very exciting and just in the niked time. I got a snowblower. Well, you got the snowblower because we saw like snow coming in. We did. I've held off for years, like I actually don't mind shoveling snow that much. But now that you've had another birthday and. Our kids are not around old, yes, it's that.

1:23 I mean it was time for sure. Yeah, it's kind of big. And Mike caveat to you was we should absolutely get it. But it has to neatly fit in our garage, and so far, so far fit perfectly with the location. It's neatly right. I love a clear path to my car. I love it so much. And that so we're gonna work on that. We're gonna put a pin in that, and we're gonna circle back in the new year and find a new a new uh, a new place for that snowblower. But I'm really glad that you got it. Yeah, me too, worked worked really well. So it's been a while since we recorded, like maybe two weeks, and I think it was our last episode ode. You gave some sports predictions and some of our listeners went with your bets.

2:06 They they lost. A lot of money on your beats. So what do you have to say for yourself? I don't want to talk about I was so far off on everything it was. I think I read a comment somebody said it was like the worst weekend in Detroit sports history. I don't think it really was, but. It was pretty bad. And I don't even really follow the Red Wings and the Pistons that closely, but all across the. Board since one Lions one. Yeah, they want to their last two games. No, they won Thursday, they lost last last Thursday was Thanksgiving. They're still in the playoff hunt, but it's not looking great. And who's who's at the top of the playoff hunt? No idea. I really haven't followed.

2:47 It, you liar. You know, you just don't want to say it. Say it. Be a man, be a real man. You can do it. Chicago Bears, Yeah, Chicago Bears. Go Bears, the Bears. Yeah, so it's kind of exciting to be a Bear fe anyway though, I don't really care, but it's just. Nice root for your home, your hometown team. Yeah. We'll brace yourself because I have a compliment to give you, all right, I will brace One of your strengths is while you're watching the game, you can get really kind of grumpy, but you always shake it off very quickly, which I appreciate because I know some people go into Monday morning or whatever the day, you know, and they carry it with them. But you, I'd like to think. That I've matured a little bit over the years, just.

3:27 A little think you've always been like that. Sometimes it's been worse than others. But I do shake it off rety quick, and I even try not to get too upset during the game when things are happening, but sometimes I can't. Well I don't really watch the games with you, so I don't really know. But when I see you when you come up for a snack. Thursday night, I was watching the game and I started to wonder if maybe you were hearing me from two I was in the basement watching the game and you were on our second floor, and I wouldn't have been surprised if you hurt me a couple of times. Well, sometimes you just send me a text and you're like, I can't believe this pall or blah blah blah was the colin NFL history blah blah. Yeah. So, speaking of controversy. Oh yeah, we generated a little bit of controversy on our last episode. It was the Carmela and David Knight episode, and at the end of it, I gave you a quiz that I came up with about ethical policing. Essentially, what I tried to do is give you some situations that were really difficult situations if you were and they were hypothetical situations. And a few people commented saying that they felt like we.

4:29 Were excusing, we were being cottonheaded. In Yeah, that they were. We were excusing police brutality, and we really feel bad about that because we don't condone police brutality there at all. But I do think there are situations that police get in that are really difficult provide some ethic. I think that was our point. Yeah, exactly. These were not meant to be like easy, you know, answers to these. We have a lot of respect for law enforcement. There are definitely bad cops, but the vast majority of them are good cops. They're trying to do the right thing all the time. And we apologize if it came off sounding like we were condoning police brutality, because that's certainly not what we meant. Absolutely, I did post on apology and social media, and a lot of you voist your support for us and said, you know, even if you say something stupid every episode, we still love you and support you, and we really do appreciate that.

5:19 Yeah, we do. I did bring you a snack. I was hoping we're going to South Africa today, where we've never been. You would think that I would have made you something elaborate, but I ran out of time as usual, But I made you popcorn with a South African twist. Oh interesting, just. Made up the regular way. Actually, you were so nice and made it for me so I could take a shower. But it's popcorn with paprika and garlic powder and salt and sugar and a little bit of cayenne pepper. Oh cool. I think it's pretty yummy. All right, I'm looking forward to trying it. Yeah, did you like the popwork? I did. I have to say I was a little skeptical because I don't know like popcorn with that type of spice on it. But yeah, it was really tasty.

6:04 It is really good. And I can't really give you a recipe because I just kind of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But it's supposed to be most heavily spiced with paprika, so it's like a teaspoon of paprika, half a teaspoon of garlic powder. I think I've put a teaspoon of salt and just a large pinchup cayenne, But you can make it to your own specifications. Well, thank you for that. You're welcome. We don't talk about what cases we're doing to each other, but it was a coincidence that you're next. You are also working on a South Africa case, and I feel a little guilty about my easy snack. So if you want, I will take one of your snacks. Oh be your South African recipe.

6:44 I won't turn that down. Okay, So we will come back to South Africa in just a couple of weeks. It's a beautiful country that's been through a lot and I'm looking forward to telling you about this case today. I'm going to tell you this story of Annie Hondocha and Srian Deo. Wani. Want to thank Natasha, who is from South Africa, for recommending this case. And Natasha and I emailed a few times back and forth, and she gave me some really good insight into her country. Sometimes it's hard for us to know to really get to the nugget. It is a country when we're researching. Yeah, I think in the States, we kind of know, we know most of the regions of the United States to some degree, but when it comes to a country that we've never been to, it is difficult.

7:26 It can be hard to really glean what a country is about. But before we get into the case, I did want to mention that our merch store is open again. If you go to bonfire dot com slash store, Sash Slash Love Dash Mary Dashkill Dash Store, this link will be in our show notes. It'll be open until December twenty second, which is a short window, but it will reopen again after that. I guess they bash print and we didn't realize actually that our store has been opened this whole time because we're not that's. Just not very detail oriented on some things, right. So anyway, if you are so, if you're interested, please go there. And we have some mugs, and we have sweatshirts and t shirts and we wear ours all the time, and I think they're pretty cute.

8:14 They are, They're nice. I want to apologize in advance for butchering all of the names and places that we were about to talk about. I would also like to apologize for that. On Saturday night, November thirteenth, twenty ten, and the township of kaya Leicha on the southeastern outskirts of Cape Town, a poverty stricken area considered dangerous. After dark, a well dressed Indian man a foreign national, was seen nervously pacing outside a small house looking for help. He'd knocked on a few doors, but no one answered. Excuse me, Is there a nearby police station where I can report a carjacking? He asked the homeowner, Simbonila moto Kazi had just arrived home from driving a friend to the airport. Simbonilla was happy to help. He called his cousin, a local police officer.

9:04 Within minutes, they arrived on the scene, but the tourist appeared confused, disoriented, and unable to adequately describe what had happened that evening. He told police his name was Shriann de Wanie. He was a thirty year old business man from Bristol, England, about two and a half hours from London. Schrienne and his wife of three weeks, Anni, had arrived in Capetown the previous day for the second leg of their honeymoon, staying in the pash five hundred pound per night waterfront Hotel, Cape Grace. Earlier that evening, they had embarked on a tour of Cape Town with a higher driver who took them through some of the more dangerous areas of the city's east side. According to Shrienn, at about ten forty five p m, while they were stopped at an intersection, two armed men wearing wide brimmed sun hats, despite it being dark, approached the vehicle, announced to the driver at gunpoint, forcing him into the back seat. They he drove around for forty five minutes, with the terrified newly weds in the back seat cowering in fear, until they forced Srian out of the vehicle, speeding off into the night with Annie still in the back seat. Sriann couldn't tell police where they'd been driving, nor could he recall the make or model of the vehicle. Police returned Schrian to the hotel at twelve forty five a m.

10:22 While they searched for Annie through the night. Desperate Sharien called his family in Bristol, pleading for help. His brother Prayan immediately sent a photo of Anni to South African authorities and managed to obtain a backup of Scharenn's BlackBerry, pulling the contact list, including the number of the taxi driver, Zola Tango. He even reached out to a private detective for help finding Annie, but they declined because the investigation was too fresh and they said that they might get in the way of the police. Prayan was really proactive on this. Annie was loved by everyone and at this point everyone was dead, stated to wanted to do anything that they could to find her. The next morning, a woman called police to report a suspicious gray mini van that had been parked across from her house next to a field all night. Curious residents had gathered around the vehicle and were peering through the windows. When police arrived, they found blood dripping from the van, pulling on the ground below.

11:22 The doors were unlocked. A woman lay sprawled across the back seat. She was young, covered in blood, and tragically already dead. The victim was identified as twenty eight year old newlywed Annie Hindocha. She had been shot once in the neck with a nine millimeter pistol, which was found on the floor of the van. A bloody fingerprint and thumb print were found on the left funder of the van. The owner of the prince. Twenty five year old Koalila Mengeni, was found and arrested not far from where the van had been discovered, at his grandmother's house. When officers arrived, he was fast asleep. He'd been out parting and till the early morning hours and brought two women and a man home with him. All four were asleep in his bed under the mattress. The police found a cell phone.

12:09 Mngeni said it was the taxi driver's phone. Zola tango Ani's diamond bracelet was also in his possession. Police dragged him out of the house and placed him under arrest. He lied and said a man named Mawiwi was his accomplice, but that man had an alibi. Days later, he admitted to his lie and gave the name Miziwa Madoda lenox Quabe to police. So this new name that he gave to the police, he was saying that was someone who had been his accomplice. Okay, Maziwa ma Doda, can you say. That Maziewa Mandoda very good? South Africa spans more than a million square kilometers or about four hundred and seventy thousand square miles, making it nearly twice the size of Texas, with a population of roughly sixty five million people. It's a country of striking contrasts, shaped by a long history, bass geography, and deep cultural diversity.

13:09 Cape Town, home to about five million residents, sits on the southwestern tip of the country and serves as South Africa's legislative capital or Parliament meets. Often described as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is framed by the flat topped grandeur of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, and is known for its dramatic coastline, historic neighborhoods, and vibrant multicultural communities. Its modern landscape is still deeply shaped by the legacy of apartheid, the racial segregation system enforced from nineteen forty eight to nineteen ninety four. Under apartheid, non white residents were forcibly removed from central districts and pushed into outlying townships like Kayalichia, creating stark racial and economic divides that remain visible today. Although apartheid ended with South Africa's first democratic elections in nineteen ninety four, its influence continues to shape the patterns of wealth opportunity, housing, in safety throughout the city. Since the end of apartheid in nineteen ninety four, South Africa has worked to right the wrongs of its past by dismantling discriminatory laws, expanding political representation, and creating programs aimed at improving housing, education, and economic opportunity for communities long denied them. The progress has been uneven, but the country has made meaningful strides towards building a more inclusive and democratic society, an ongoing

14:41 effort to repair the deep inequalities left behind and move toward a more just future. Today, Cape Town is a major tourism hub, drawing millions with attractions like Table Mountain, Robin Island, Camps Bay and Cape Winelands. Tourism fuels a significant part of the local act economy, even as the city continues to navigate deep inequalities and safety concerns that vary widely from one area to another. Despite these contrasts, Cape Town remains a vibrant cultural and economic center, a place with extraordinary beauty that continues to welcome visitors from around the world. But despite its beauty, South Africa's murder rate is among the highest in the world. In twenty twenty four, the country recorded twenty six thousand, two hundred thirty two homicides, about forty two murders per one hundred thousand people, or roughly fifty two a day in a nation of sixty two million. For comparison, the United States saw about eighteen thousand, eight hundred murders in twenty twenty two, a rate of five point six per one hundred thousand in a population more than five times larger. This means that South Africa's murder rate is nearly eight times higher than in the US. Much of this violence is driven by severe inequality, entrenched gaining activity, particularly around Cape Town, strained policing resources, historical trauma left by apartheid, and high levels of interpersonal and alcohol related violence. Kaya Leichia, where

16:12 Anni's body was found, is one of South Africa's largest and fastest growing townships, located on the Cape Flats about thirty kilometers from Cape Town. Established in the nineteen eighties under apartheid, it was created to segregate black South Africans, and it grew rapidly as people were forcibly relocated there. Today, kaya Leicha is known for its vibrant community resilience and cultural richness, but it also faces major challenges, including poverty, unemployment rates as high as fifty percent, overcrowding, and limited access to services. Most people live in shanties made from discarded materials including cardboard, tar, paper, and scraps of metal and wood, without electricity, sewage, or running water. Despite these difficulties, it has a strong entrepreneur dirial spirit, active civic groups, and a growing arts and food scene that reflects its residents creativity and determination.

17:09 Vinoude Hindocha Ani's father descended from a family of Indian traders who had lived for generations in Uganda's Indian community. But when Idi Amin expelled Asians from Uganda in nineteen seventy two, Vinoude, then twenty three, fled to Austria with his parents and four siblings with only fifty five British pounds to their name. They lived in a tent for months until Sweden offered them visas. They rebuilt their life in the Swedish town of Mariastad, working at a farm, picking strawberries to support their family and learning the language of their new country. Mariastad is a small, charming, picturesque town in south central Sweden, on the shores of Lake Veneran, where summers are spent lounging along the lake's shimmering edge.

17:55 With a population of roughly twenty five thousand people, it's known for its historic town center, peaceful waterfront, and strong sense of community. Families often stay for generations, captivated by the peaceful beauty and the friendly people. The Hindocha family felt welcomed in Maria Stad, and despite looking different, they blended seamlessly into the community. Vinoude went to school and became an electrical engineer for Electrolux before he launched his own business selling electrical equipment supplies. He met his wife, Nilam, also a Ugandan refugee, in nineteen seventy six. It was a perfect match, where he was shy and pedantic, she was warm and outgoing. Together they happily raised three children.

18:41 Ami was born in nineteen seventy seven. Anni Nina followed five years later in March nineteen eighty two, and their younger brother, Aniche arrived in nineteen eighty eight. They grew up in a close knit family along with their cousins who lived nearby. Nilam and Vinode encouraged their children to stay connected to their Indian roots and to speak Gujarati at home. Later, when Annie chose to marry in Mumbai, it felt like a meaningful affirmation of their Indian heritage and it made her parents very proud. Annie was intelligent, charismatic, fashionable and beautiful. Her friends called her Indian Barbie Vineaude doted on his youngest daughter, buying her a new car and giving her a generous down payment for an apartment in Stockholm after she graduated from college with an engineering degree.

19:30 In two thousand and six, when Nilam was diagnosed with stomach cancer, Annie took a year off from her studies to nurse her mother back to health. Later, she went to work for the telecommunications giant Eriksson as a logistics manager. Once in her mid twenties, Annie started thinking about finding a partner and starting a family. She admired AMI's marriage and adored her niece and nephew. She began spending weekends in London, staying with friends and family because she wanted to marry someone of Indian Her prospects were better there. We'll be back after a break.

20:12 Annie's aunt, who prided herself on her match making skills met Srian Dewani and was impressed by his good looks, education, and charm. She quickly decided that he would be a perfect match for her niece, and she was right. When they met for the first time for coffee at Starbucks in September two thousand and nine. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but there was mutual interest. They agreed to see each other again. Their first official date was to see Lion King, after which Shriann sent Annie flowers every day at work. In November, Annie introduced her new boyfriend to her parents. He touched their feet in a gesture of humility and respect, which surprised and impressed them.

20:56 If any current or future suitors of our children are listening, please don't ever ever touch might be U nor Minevanoude had checked into Shrian's background, and he was pleased with what he learned, except for one thing. He'd abruptly called off his previous relationship with a millionaire's daughter after they'd had a lavish engagement party in London. Srian addressed the issue with Vanoude, and he told him to ask him any question he wanted, but his future father in law told him that as long as he loved Anni and promised to take good care of her, that was all he needed to hear, and Sriann agreed, and Beanoude gave his blessing. Ani and Sriann found that they came from remarkably similar backgrounds. Both were Hindu, descended from Gujarati families and were members of India's merchant class who had escaped Edia means Uganda and rebuilt their lives. Suryan's father, Prakash, had moved to Kenya, where his own parents had settled after leaving Gujarat, before moving to Bristol, England, where he studied pharmacology. He opened a pharmacy and later expanded into a successful chain of care homes for the elderly. He and his wife Sheila raised three children, Praying, Shriann and Rhea.

22:12 With a strong emphasis on discipline, education and professional success. The Dewanies worked hard to build a comfortable life in the UK. From a young age, Shrian was known as intelligent, meticulous, and introverted, the quieter sibling sandwich between a confident older brother and a younger sister. Teachers and classmates described him as bright and studious, someone who took pride in appearances and excelled academically. After attending a prestigious prep school, he earned an accounting degree from the University of Manchester, then taught English and math and Ghana before joining the elite accounting firm Deloitte in London. Within a year, he left to help his older brother pray In, run the rapidly growing family company PSP Healthcare. He became a millionaire before turning thirty. Sriann had grown into a friendly and outgoing man, though some felt he carried himself with an air of superiority and flaunted his wealth. He enjoyed the finer things in life and could be a bit flashy at times, but he was affable, good humored, and generous with his friends and family. Sriann and Annie entered into an exclusive, long term relationship, but the distance between them sometimes created tension and even led to a brief breakup. So remember Annie is living in Stockholm and he's in London. So Schriann was an attractive, well groomed man who dressed impeccably, but friend said Annie sometimes teased him behind his back

23:43 about his teeth. His two front teeth were slightly longer than the others, giving him what she jokingly referred to as a rabbit like appearance. Not very nice. He is a handsome man, but once you see that, you're like, oh, yeah, he kind of does Srian donni. He did not believe in sex before marriage. It's not clear if this caused problems for the couple, but her cousin said that she grew frustrated that he wasn't more openly affectionate with her. When Annie mentioned it to her father, he told her it was a good thing that Schrian respected her. In early twenty ten, Annie quit her job at Ericsson, sold her apartment in Stockholm, and moved to London to be closer to Schriann. She and her cousin her best friend Sneha rented an apartment together, savoring what felt like their final opportunity of carefree single living before both women married and started families of their own. When the Hendocha and Dewani families met in person in May twenty ten, a Node, successful in his own right, found himself intimidated by the Dewani's vast wealth, but he was impressed by their warmth and charm. When the Hendojas were presented with a gift from the dewanis a Pooja Thali.

24:59 They were surprised. It is a deeply symbolic gesture in Indian culture. It signaled the Dewanie's acceptance of the match that the family considered the match all but sealed. Annie herself seemed surprised by the gift. She and Shrian hadn't even discussed marriage yet. The pooja sally made it feel as though she'd already accepted a proposal. It seems like this is maybe the last step of courting before the marriage. He was yeah. The gesture sent her into a tailspin, and she briefly considered ending the relationship altogether. She wasn't sure that she was ready for a long term future with Shrian, or if she wanted one at all. But in June, Sriann whisked Annie away in a private plane to Paris for a proposal she suspected was coming, especially after the Pooja Sali gesture from his family to hers. Shriann went all out.

25:54 He bought Annie a new designer dress, Christian de Were shoes, and at the hotel rist It's, a waiter lifted a silver clothes to reveal a single red rose and a twenty five thousand pound engagement. Engagement engagement. They'd been together for less than a year, and while Annie said yes, hopeful for what her future might bring, she still carried quiet doubts about the pace at which everything was moving. It reminds me a lot of my proposal to. You, other than the private plane to Paris, and other than the designer clothing, and they expected. In what way does it remind you of our engagement? Really?

26:35 No, other than all that stuff you just said. Well, it was a lovely engagement. Yours was Ours was, but there's was too. I mean that's you know, sounds very nice. Some grand gestures there. It was funny because I was a surprise, and I think that Shmiann had her cousin or someone packed like her toilet trees and things. So never surprise a woman when she does not out for skin and hair care products, right for sure. Despite her doubts, Annie and Shriann were married under a full moon on October twenty ninth, twenty ten, in front of three hundred guests near Mumbai, India, onlike po Wai. Annie looked stunning wearing a custom green and gold sorry bathed in jewels as she was carried down the aisle by her brother, uncle and two cousins. Sriann waited for her at the altar behind a curtain, wearing a beige turban and suit. It was a grand three day celebration with horse drawn carriages, elephants, beautiful flowers, and elaborate costumes. The couple appeared to radiate joy, but some guests felt that Annie seemed strangely detached from the festivities, despite having spent three months in India planning every detail of the wedding herself.

27:49 Over the three days, there were five traditional ceremonies and three banquets. The affair is said to cost about two hundred thousand pounds. Someday I would like to be invited to an elaborate Indian wedding, because I just think it sounds so amazing. The wedding in India was not legally binding. The couple had planned to make the marriage official with a civil ceremony after their honeymoon. Because the marriage was never made official, Shrian nor the Dawanes had legal financial obligation to Annie's family or her estate after her death. And that is why I titled the episode Annie Hindocha and Sriandawani. Because their marriage was not official interesting, the newlyweds waited two weeks before embarking on their honeymoon. Shrian planned the trip wanting to surprise Annie. He told friends that he chose South Africa because it represented their initials. There are some reports that Annie was disappointed with the choice of South Africa, but she went along with it. They left for South Africa on November eight, twenty ten, and spent four days in Kruger National Park, one of Africa's most famous wildlife reserves.

29:02 Located in South Africa along the border of Mozambique, it spans seven six hundred square miles, about the size of New Jersey. It's known for its remarkable biodiversity, including the Big Five, hundreds of bird species in a mix of savannah, woodlands and rivers. Okay, here's a short quiz. What do you think the top five are? Oh, gosh, giraffe nope, Elephant yes, tiger or lion. Lion not tiger. I just got to tell you lions, leopards, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Okay, I was going to say rhino. I thought that was probably all I would have gotten. I hope someday if there's so many places I want to visit now that we've done the podcast, for so many more places I would want to visit, but it would just be amazing. The park is considered one of the best places in the world to see wildlife up close in its natural habitat. On Friday, November twelve, twenty ten, they flew to Cape Town for the second leg their honeymoon.

30:01 But even during the honeymoon tensions rose Annie sent her cousin text messages that they were fighting and even that she hated her husband and regretted the marriage. One message said crying has become my new hobby. Another read, He's a really good guy in all ways, but I just don't feel happy with him at all. When she spoke with her parents, she told of the Node in Swedish that she had a lot to tell him. When they returned from South Africa. He too, felt that she already regretted the marriage. Oh, that's really sad to have that level of regret that Early in Zolatango was a thirty one year old insurance salesman and building inspector. He supported his mother and younger siblings. Along with his wife and five children, he was having some difficulty making ends meet. For extra income, he began working as a taxi driver in his off hours, using his girlfriend's vehicle, a Volkswagen Sharrun.

30:58 I've read differing accounts whether he had a wife or a girlfriend or book okay. He met Anni and Shriann after picking them up from the airport. They arranged to have him pick them up the next night for dinner. The newlywed spent most of Saturday relaxing by the pool at the Cape Grace before heading out for a late dinner. They had originally booked a table at the upscale ninety six Winery Road, but decided they weren't hungry enough for a multi course meal. Their driver, Zola Tongo, suggested a more casual option, the Surfside Restaurant, tucked into a dingy strip mall in the beach town of Strand, about thirty minutes from Cape Town. It was an unusual choice for a honeymoon dinner, especially for a couple dressed so elegantly.

31:41 Our friend Natasha from South Africa said this would be a kin to someone out to dinner in New York City going to Wendy's. Okay, just it was an odd location. It was an odd choice. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've been to wendy Is in New York City before. There was absolutely nothing wrong going to Wendy's. But if you went to the wind on the wrong side of town when you were dressed in a tuxedo. Yeah I get it. Anni and Shrian were captured on surveillance at nine thirty three pm entering the slightly Tacki beachfront restaurant. Srian wore a tailored black suit, while Anni, in a short dress and strappy high heels with a shawl over her shoulders, looked mildly annoyed as they walked inside.

32:22 She ordered a vegetable curry and a white wine, while Shrian chose sushi and vodka. By ten twenty four pm, the couple was again captured on camera leaving the restaurant and getting into Tongo's taxi. He had been their driver since the previous day, when he'd picked them up at the airport and taken them to their five star hotel, showing them the best views Cape Town had to offer. He appeared professional, courteous, and proud of his work earlier that evening. After dropping the couple off, Srian had pulled Tongo Aside out of Annie's earshot and told him the job needed to be done that night or his life could be in danger. Allegedly, after dinner, Zola didn't take them back to Cape Grace, but instead drove them toward more rural areas. Sria later claimed that Annie had asked to see the real Africa. But even locals avoid venturing out after dark, and tourists are strongly warned against entering the rougher townships at night, where the crime rate is higher.

33:22 This is one of the most problematic points of the story. No one would willingly go to this area at night, especially a tourist, especially wealthy tourists. Police won't even respond to a call unless there are five officers together. Interesting, it's that dangerous. It did make me think, though there are tourists that like to go to places like that. I was thinking about Brazil actually, because there are places in Brazil like near Rio called the favelas, which are like the slums, and people pay to have someone drive them through and tour that area. But it doesn't sound like Srian and Annie would be would be into that sort of thing, especially not at. Night, especially not at night. Yeah, and remember this is one of the most dangerous places in the world.

34:06 Really. Yeah. The roads were bumpy and unpaved, but Anni and Shriann sat in the back seat thumbing through photos from their safari, oblivious to their surroundings and unaware that their driver was taking them into a very rough area. While driving, Zola sent Shrian a text message reminding him not to forget to leave payment. Schrian had quietly exchanged American dollars for ten thousand South African rand, which is about thirteen hundred and seventy US dollars. That afternoon. He had carefully placed an envelope of cash in the pocket on the back of the passenger seat. Zola Tango had actually taken Shrian to a store where he could exchange American dollars.

34:50 For a rest Okay. While at a stop sign, two armed men approached the taxi, slamming their guns on the windshield. One man opened the driver's door and demanded Sola get out and get into the back seat with Shriann and Annie. The second man sat in the passenger seat and pointed his gun into the back seat. He demanded they hand over anything of value. They stripped themselves of their belongings, a Giorgio or Amani watch, a Cardier watch, a camera, a white gold and diamond bracelet, a leather purse, Annie's BlackBerry, and about five thousand rand. When Schrian tried to slyly keep his own BlackBerry, the hijacker noticed, ordered him to hand it over and warned that he would kill him if he tried anything like that again. As the chaos unfolded, Annie quietly slipped off her wedding and engagement rings and tucked them between the seat cushions. The driver stopped at a gas station and forced Zola out of the taxi.

35:48 Anni cried in the back seat and pleaded with the carjackers. We're on our honeymoon. We don't have any money with us. Please let us go. She continued to scream. The hijackers told Trian to make her be quiet or they would shoot her. We just want the car. We won't hurt you, the men said. They drove for another ten minutes before the vehicle came to a sudden stop. The gunmen shouted at Shrian to get out. He later said he tried to resist and held on to Anni, but one of the men cocked his gun and pressed it to Shrian's temple. Believing he had no choice, he crawled out of a window of the van. As the van sped off into the night, he could hear Annie's screams trailing off. He found himself alone and disoriented on a dark, unpaved road in a rural area. What a horrifying scene is really terrifying, especially in a strange country you're not familiar with. And yeah, that just sounds really scary. Just before midnight on November thirteenth, Vinode Hindotcha, Anni's father, received a life changing phone call.

36:55 It was his new friend Prakash Dewani informing him that Anni had been abducted outside of Cape Town. He tried to calm Venode and assure him that they would be able to negotiate with Annie's captors to release her. As money was no object, they would pay whatever ransom necessary they would certainly get her back. Prakash made travel arrangements. The men would meet in Amsterdam and then fly to Cape Town together. So remember that Venode is in Sweden and Prakash is in England. Right moments later, Schriann called and apologized vociferously. I'm so sorry, dad for not taking better care of your daughter. He repeated the words several times while sobbing. Vnoude told him that he would be there soon.

37:42 So at this point, Vanaude feels like Shriann is his son. He feels a great deal of affection for him, and he feels badly that he's going through this, and he's heartbroken that Annie is lost. The weather was bad and the roads were icy. It was a two and a half hour drive to the airport in Goodway. Vanaude had two hours to get there. He drove like a madman and nearly swerved off of the road several times, but made it to the airport for a three am flight to Amsterdam. He was out of his mind with worry on the two hour flight. Once he arrived, he rushed off the plane to call home. As soon as Nilam answered, he heard sobbing on the line.

38:22 His worst nightmare, every parent's worst nightmare, was coming to life. He dropped to his knees and wept openly. At the airport, his treasured daughter was gone. Inconceivable. When he called home, no one said that Annie was gone, but just he could hear like his family there. Yeah, he was weeping and he knew that it was bad news. So sad. He somehow made it onto the next flight with Prakash Dewani, who had also heard about Annie's death and was badly shaken. The flight from Amsterdam to South Africa was eleven hours long. Vnaude cried for much of the flight, lined with grief. Prakash tried to comfort his friend.

39:03 He was also very emotional. The men both thought that Annie was kidnapped for money, okay, and they were very concerned. But they thought they both had money and they would have paid anything to get Annie back, right, So they were, you know, kind of comforted by that thought, like, we'll get her back, We'll pay whatever it takes. You know, the kidnappers will be in touch with us, and we will figure this out when we get to South Africa. Yeah, so when they found out that she was shot, they. Were a big shot. Sure. Yeah. When they arrived in South Africa twenty four hours after Annie's abduction, they were met at the airport by ambassadors from Sweden and Great Britain, who drove them to the Cape Grace Hotel to meet with Sriann. The men hugged, but there was little to say.

39:50 Venode was still in a state of shock, while Shriann seemed distant and not forthcoming. He was constantly on his phone or laptop, but didn't seem to be an emotional district. When Venoude said he wanted to see Annie, Schrian told him he could not because her body was not ready to be viewed. He didn't care. He just wanted to see his daughter, but he complied with Srian's wishes. The next morning, when he went to the morgue to see Annie, Srean declined to go, saying it would be too painful for him. He stayed behind to get a haircut and buy a new suit. That's really odd choices right there. I read part of a Nodes book and he talks about this, how he literally couldn't stop crying. He was in such grief and shock, and he never saw Sriann shed a tear, and he didn't seem to be as emotional as you know, he expected him to be right.

40:44 You know, people process grief differently, but he just felt like he was very detached. Yeah. The following day, the three men flew with Annie's body back to Bristol, England. We'll be back after a break. The Directorate for a Priority Crime Investigation or DPCI, commonly known as the Hawks, is an elite unit of the South African Police Service tasked with handling the country's most serious offenses. Their mandate includes investigating organized and violent crime, major commercial offenses, corruption, illicit mining, human trafficking, and other high profile or national priority cases. The murder of a wealthy tourist came under their purview. While carjackings are relatively common, the victims are not usually killed, and tourists are rarely targeted for murder. Captain Paul Hendriksa led the investigation. He spoke briefly with Tongo and believed his account and released him fairly quickly. The investigators were immediately suspicious Shrian Dowani and some of the decisions he made. Why, for example, had Anni and Shriann chosen to ride from the airport with Tongo instead of taking the Cape Grace's dedicated car service,

42:14 And what would have compelled them to drive into one of Cape Town's most dangerous townships after dark? And why would Zola Tongo have agreed to drive them there? Why was the vehicle not sold for parts or burned to destroy evidence. And why would the carjackers let two witnesses who could clearly identify them, walk free yet kill Anni moments later? All seemed like very good questions, and. Shrian's account of November thirteen shifted with each telling. He initially told a Daily Mail reporter that the visit to the rural township had been Annie's idea, claiming that she wanted to see the real South Africa, But in an interview with The Sun a week later, he gave a different account, saying it was Zola Tongo who suggested the detour so that they could see some African dancing, and that he and Annie had been unsure about the plan.

43:13 Schrian also changed his description of how he was forced from the car. First, he claimed he'd been pushed out the back door while the vehicle was still moving. In a later interview, however, he said that the attackers couldn't get me out because the child blocks brawn, so they dragged me out of the window while I was struggling and screaming. But both of these accounts were suspicious because Schriann didn't have any injuries, and you would think in both of these cases that he would have suffered some sort of injury, right yep. And perhaps most damning was that there was no evidence that Annie had been sexually assaulted. So there was one bruise in the shape of a hand on her upper thigh, So investigators couldn't figure out why Annie was left in the car, and Zola and Shriann were I was from the car if she wasn't sexually assaulted, So that's how they came to the conclusion that it must have been a contracted hit. Days after the murder, Schriann called Captain Hendriksa and asked if they'd found Annie's engagement ring. He said no, and Sriann told him that it was between the seats in the van.

44:21 But in Schriann's original statement, he'd said that Annie had handed the ring over to the carjackers. When Hendriksa pointed out this discrepancy, Schriann grew flustered. So later an eyewitness came forward and said that she had seen Annie in the back of the van and thought that her dress was pulled up and her underwear was pulled down, and that she saw evidence of sexual assault. But I've seen pictures of the crime scene being investigated and police were holding up white sheets so the public couldn't see. So I'm a little suspicious of this account. Remember the bloody his fingerprints found on the van. We talked about that at the very beginning. Police trace them to twenty five year old Khalila Mengeni. He did have a criminal record.

45:10 Five years earlier, he'd been arrested for killing a man in a bar fight, though he was ultimately cleared of that charge. He confessed to his part in Annie's murder and named his accomplice a man named Miziwama Doda Lenox Quave. He also confessed to his part in the murder and carjacking a few days later. Taxi driver Zola Tongo, who'd been in hiding, turned himself into the police. On November twenty second, when he had his first court appearance. He arrived covered from head to toe in a white sheet. The prosecutor was prepared to offer Tongo a plea deal in exchange for more information, but the Hindocha family first had to give their consent. It was a painstaking decision, yet after much deliberation, they agreed. So the Dewanis had hired a high powered publicist Max Clifford to deal with the media. That was fine, but when they demanded the Hindojas sign an agreement to not talk to the press without their approval, the Node flatly refused. Offended, Clifford convinced Strian to give an interview to the UK tabloid The Sun.

46:22 Here's a clip. Onie was amazing because there was never a quiet moment when she was in the brook. The proposal was the best moment of my life. I'd arranged for a knight in Paris and as the Ritz Hotel and. Some surprise Yeah, yeah, the wife about this show. Yeah. The ring was a single solitaire diamonds nature. The restaurant served it on a ring cushion, and he was so excited to get the ring. I didn't even have a chance to fully ask the question. It was always the jake that I haven't ever actually asked to marry me because we were so excited. I just got married to the girl of my dreams and she actually was the girl of my dreams.

47:13 Do you think that he sounds sincere and in love with his wife? Yeah, to me, it sounds like he does. Yeah, I agree. I think it's possible that he had some media trading from his publicist. When it came time for Annie's funeral, tensions mounted between the two families. The Hindojas would have preferred to have the funeral in Sweden, but they allowed Schrian to make the arrangements. Things deteriorated further when Schriann refused Amy's request to dress her sister for the funeral, a role traditionally reserved for female relatives in Hindu custom. Ami watched in horror as Shriann handled Annie's body, roughly, forcing gold bangles onto her swollen wrist.

47:57 A week after her murder, on November twenty first twenty, Annie was laid to rest. Fifteen hundred mourners packed a London concert hall for her funeral. Before the service, the Hendocha family wanted a quiet moment alone to say goodbye to Annie, but Schriann denied them that. When Amy circumvented him and asked the funeral parlor manager for access, Schrian stormed into the room, caused a scene and shattered their final moments with Annie. The family had placed red roses and handwritten heartfelt messages to Annie around her in her casket. Sriann tossed them on to the ground. He said he didn't want Annie's casket to look like a dust bin for the family, it felt unforgivable and indicatives of something dark taking root between the two families. Sriann apologized a few days later, but the hurt ran too deep for his words to repair the damage. The day before Annie's funeral, Schriann had hosted a pizza party. When vanode find out found out, he was deeply unsettled. He thought it was inappropriate and disrespectful of Shrian. Schrian tried to explain himself that Annie had once said to him that when she died, she wanted to be celebrated and not mourned, but Vanoude felt this wasn't true. In the day since Annie's murder, he'd grown increasingly concerned over Shrian's behavior. He had more questions than answers, and Shrian's evasiveness only heightened his concern.

49:25 Banaude flew back to Cape Town, desperate for clarity. Even within the Hondotcha family, opinions had split. Vanoud's mother was convinced Srian had handed Annie's death. Ami believed that he was another victim, and Vanoude himself no longer knew what to think. What do you think of Shrian's behavior at the funeral and the events surrounding the funeral. I mean, it doesn't seem very appropriate, But at the same time, I know death can bring out all sorts of things in people that you know don't seem natural or normal, and everyone grieves and processes in a different way, So I can't say, like all, it's super suspicious. It definitely seems inappropriate and out of the ordinary.

50:10 But he seemed more angry than emotional, and I think that's why her family didn't know what to think. Yeah fair. On December seventh, twenty ten, Vanoude was present for Zola Togo's court appearance. He pleaded guilty to murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping and agreed to testify against the others involved. In return, he would receive an eighteen year sentence with the possibility of parole after twelve, far lighter than the typical South African penalty for such a crime, which is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Tongo asked to speak privately with Thenode to ask for forgiveness, but he was too overwhelmed with grief to accept the meeting. Shock rippled through the court room as the prosecutor told the that Tongo had enacted on his own. Shri and Dewani had hired him to kill his bride. In his confession, Tongo claimed that Schriann first approached him after the driver from the airport to the Cape Grace hotel. While Annie went inside to check into the hotel, Schriann stayed behind and spoke with Tongo in the taxi for about ten minutes, saying he needed someone taken off the scene. Hotel surveillance later confirmed that Schrian entered the lobby roughly ten minutes after his wife. They secretly met at noon the next day.

51:34 While Annie was by the pool, Tongo drove him to exchange money at a jewelry store in town to pay him and the hired killers. He went to the jewelry store because he said it was a better exchange rate than he would have received at the hotel, but it might have been an attempt to be more secretive to Sriann. Exchanged fifteen hundred US dollars for ten thousand South African rand. Sriann had agreed to pay Tongo five thousand rand and the killers fifteen thousand Rand, which is about one nine hundred US dollars. To me, that seems like a shockingly small amount of money, but in a country where poverty is widespread and opportunities are limited, especially for young men living in South Africa's townships, even a few thousand rand can feel like a life changing amount of money. That desperation doesn't excuse anything, but it helps explain how such a heartbreaking deal could ever be made.

52:30 The thing that kind of shocks me and maybe I'll learn something different here, but the gall it would take to approach your taxi driver that you've only known for a short time and just be like, hey, do you know someone who can right? We'll talk about that later. And a lot of people point to that as he knew him for literally an hour and you know, is trying to make an agreement. To find hit men. Tongo reached out to his friend Monde m Balambo, a hotel receptionist who worked as a middleman in the plan. He connected Tongo with Mizi Wamadoda Lennox Quabe, a drug dealer and part time DJ, to complete the hit on Anni. Quabe then recruited Kohalila Mingeni to help. The men waited at a specific intersection. When Tongo stopped at the stop sign, Quabe got behind the wheel, wearing a pair of yellow kitchen gloves and forced Togo out of the driver's seat while Mngheni got into the passenger seat. It was understood that Tongo and Shriann would be released free of injuries. The hijackers drove around for a while with the newlyweds cowering in the back seat, before Shrian was forced out near Kayalicha. The car drove on for three minutes until it stopped abruptly. The gunman reached over from the front seat and shot Annie at close range from the front seat with a single bullet.

53:48 It nicked her thumb, indicating that she'd raised her hand in self defense, then grazed two veins in her neck, severed her spinal cord, and then exited through her back. The bullet lodged into the leather seat behind her. If she hadn't died instantly, the injuries were so severe that she would have led out in minutes. Huabe and Mengheni disagreed on who pulled the trigger, each accusing the other, but later allegation's surface that the men's confessions were coerced that they'd been beaten with flashlights and suffocated with plastic bags placed over their heads before they'd admitted to their part in the crime. Had the South African government rushed to solve the crime.

54:31 Just months before Annie's murder, South Africa had hosted the twenty ten FIFA World Cup, which ran from June to July twenty ten. The country had poured tens of billions of rand roughly three to five billion US dollars into preparing for the event, building and renovating stadiums, upgrading airports and highways, boosting police visibility, and launching global advertising campaigns. It wasn't just about holding a successful tournament. Southamp Africa hoped the World Cup would spark a long term surge in tourism, reshape international perceptions of safety, and cement the country as a modern world class destination. South Africa's economy has long struggled with inequality, high unemployment, and slow growth, so increasing tourism was seen as a crucial way to strengthen the country financially. So when a young tourist was murdered later that same year. The timing was disastrous. The eyes of the world were still on South Africa, and officials were desperate not to lose the momentum or goodwill that they had built. The idea that a honeymooning visitor had been killed in a township threatened to reignite the very fears about violent crime that the World Cup had tried so hard to quiet. Under that kind of scrutiny, police moved quickly, some would say, too quickly, to present a clear narrative arrests, confessions, and a straightforward hijacking gone wrong story, But that speed came at a cost. In

56:03 the months and years that followed, key witnesses contradicted themselves, evidence didn't line up, and allegations surfaced that some confessions had been coerced. In hindsight, it's hard not to see how the pressure to protect the country's newly polished reputation may have shaped and possibly rushed the investigation. South Africa had just hosted a remarkably successful World Cup, earning global praise and experiencing far fewer problems than many had predicted, but that post tournament optimism evaporated quickly. Annie's murder became an international headline almost overnight, overshadowing the country's hard won moment on the world stage and creating intense pressure for authorities to solve the case swiftly.

56:49 All of this to say, if they can pin the murder on Annie's significant other rather than these thugs, it would benefit better. Yeah, it would look much better. Shri and Dewani heard about his arrest warrant in the media before he was contacted by authorities. A judge had issued the warrant for his arrest on December eighth, twenty ten. He was charged with kidnapping, robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and murder. Law enforcement believed that he had orchestrated the carjacking and Anni's murder. He surrendered to police near his home in Bristol, England, two days later. He was released on two hundred and fifty thousand pounds bail and required to wear an ankle monitor while remaining under house arrest.

57:34 The evidence against him included video surveillance of him meeting with Zola Tango in the lobby of the Cape Grace, exchanging a white envelope the day after Annie's murder, and text messages between them while Shrian and Anni were in the back of the taxi. About payment, Schrian claimed that the money in the envelope was money that he owed Tongo for his taxi service. Prosecutors also pointed to his shifting statements after the attack, unexplained gaps in the timeline, and the fact that he had concealed significant parts of his personal life from Annie, details, they argued suggesting motive and deception. Shrian's arrest made international headlines. After seeing his picture in a newspaper, a man named Leopold Lyser, a male escort known by the name German Master, came forward claiming that Srian had paid him on three separate occasions for kinky sex. Leopold Lyser told the British tabloid The Sun that Schrian had confided in him that although Annie was a nice, lovely girl whom he liked, he felt trapped in his engagement because breaking it off would lead to him being disowned by his family. Schrian told Liser that he needed to find a way out of the marriage.

58:52 After he sold his story to the son, Schriann threatened to sue him for libel. Sadly, the media attention and stress caused Lyser to take his own life in twenty sixteen, but another man also came forward to investigators, a fifty three year old who worked for the British Parliament. They had met at a London gay fetish club called Hoist. The Daily Star reported that the man told detectives that Dowani was a submissive who enjoyed sadomasochism and dressing up in leather. For someone like Shrian, raised in a respected traditional Indian family, where reputation, marriage and community perception carry enormous weight, being gay or bisexual could be viewed as deeply shameful, something he might fear admitting. But the question remained, could that truly be a motive for murder? But others argued that Schrian couldn't have possibly arranged a murder for higher plots so quickly. They had been in South Africa for twenty four hours before Ani was murdered, and Zolatango had no no criminal history and made good money between his two jobs. Why would he arrange a hit on Annie for so little money? The Hendosha family wasn't sure what to think. Ammi recalled the conversation she had had with Annie a few weeks before the wedding when she was ready to call it off. She had been so angry with Sriann that she removed her engagement ring from her finger and threw it at him across the room.

1:00:26 Annie called her sister and told her that srian was controlling and a neat freak. There are a lot of things that Srianne did in their short relationship that might be red flags. He wouldn't allow Annie to eat sweets around him. He expected her to fold the dirty laundry before putting it in the hamper, and he presented her with a spreadsheet and said, you know, you need to track your spending. Oh boy, yeah, those are all red flags. Ammy calmed Annie down, telling her that hundreds of people had made their travel arrangements and chalked her stress up to pre wedding jitters. But now she wondered if she pushed her sister into an impossible situation that resulted in her death.

1:01:09 I have a lot of empathy for Amy, and you know the auntie who you know, helped arrange the marriage, and you know, just I think everyone feels like a little bit of guilt, like why didn't we see these red flags? But yeah, there's just no way to know for sure we'll be back after a break. Sriann had been under house arrest at his family's compound in Bristol and February, an ambulance was seen at the house. Later, it was reported that Schriann swallowed forty six pills, including diazepam, a fast acting benzodiazepine used to reduce anxiety, relaxed muscles and calm the nervous system. Since Annie's murder, he'd fallen into a deep depression, suffered from peaced and lost twenty eight pounds. He was hospitalized for several weeks, and when he began exhibiting alarming psychotic symptoms, he was transferred to a high security facility. Some thought this was an orchestrated attempt to fight extradition to South Africa and manipulate the judicial system in South Africa. Annie's case dominated front pages, nightly broadcasts, and talk radio, sparking a national conversation about crime, policing and justice. Reporters scrutinized every inconsistency and every new claim, with the public following along in real time. Internationally, the

1:02:39 story was just as relentless. UK tabloids fixated on every twist in the narrative. Swedish outlets followed the Hindocha family closely, and Indian media focused on Annie herself. With so many countries invested, the case never had a chance to be investigated quietly. The intense press attention added pressure on investigators and prosecutors, shaping public perception long before the courtroom arguments began and turning a single tragedy into a global spectacle. In researching this case, I realized how relentless the UK tabloids are. Have you ever had any experience with the UK tabloids? The Daily Mail is one of them. They are maybe a little a little more newsy, but just shocking how many there are, and just it's super mean spirited and definitely put the cart before the horse. Many times, public opinion on Shriann depended heavily on geography, and the UK and Sweden people believed he was guilty. In India, opinion was mixed but often skeptical of his guilt, and in South Africa views were deeply divided, with early suspicion giving way to widespread doubt as the investigation unraveled and the witness's credibility collapsed, and telling the story. It's hard because there are many different accounts depending on who you talk to, and you know who who was the shooter, who wasn't the shooter. It's it's six months after her murderer,

1:04:15 Nilam and Vanode, along with the rest of their family, filled two boats and scattered Annie's ashes and the peaceful, sparkling waters of Lake Vanier and the third largest lake in Europe, near their home in Maria stadd Annie had spent countless summer days. They were laughing and swimming with friends and family, and it remains a place where they return to remember happy memories. With so many unanswered questions, the Hondojas themselves were unable to grieve properly for Annie, but Node described the year since her murder as torture. We need to know what happened to our beautiful daughter. The only thoughts we have in our head are why did she die? We need to know the truth. Before the start of the first trial, Nilam Hendocha, who was frail from her recent cancer treatment, said, we know it's going to be very difficult, but we will do anything to get justice. People say time heals wounds, but in our case, the wounds are deeper the longer we live without answers. Once this is over, we hope we can move forward with our lives and our Annie can finally be at peace. These people are just the loveliest people.

1:05:24 They have such a large, loving, supportive family. It was really touching to me. They were heartbroken, like it literally changed their whole family when they lost Annie. Monday and Bolomba was never charged despite being the middleman. Lennox quabe signed a confession before the trial started. He was sentenced to twenty five years in prison and would be eligible for parole after serving sixteen years. As part of his plea agreement. He testified against Kohlila Mingheni in August twenty twelve at his trial, so Mingeni he is the only one who went to trial. At the end of his testimony, he turned to venode and begged forgiveness. Mngeni, who was in frail health after he'd been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, maintained that it was Quabei that fired the final shot at Anni, but his lawyer didn't put much of a defense up. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died in prison and October twenty fourteen, at only twenty seven years of age. By the time Srian Dewani, thirty four, finally stood trial in South Africa in October twenty fourteen, nearly four years had passed since Annie's murder. He'd hired an excellent legal team. His extradition from the UK had been delayed for years due to serious concerns about his mental health. He'd been hospitalized, placed on suicide watch, and eventually transferred to a high security psychiatric facility. Only after

1:06:57 lengthy negotiations and assurances regarding his health was he declared fit to stand trial. On the first day of the trial, Schriann openly admitted in his plea statement that he was bisexual, something that he had concealed from both his family and from Annie. Prosecutors argued this secret gave him motive to escape the marriage, while the defense maintained that his sexuality was irrelevant and was being used to prejudice the case against him. There was no pressure from the Dewanies for Sriann to marry, and no prenup was signed. The defense argued. The court reviewed evidence showing that Schriann had visited Gaye Horn and Escort websites during the honeymoon and shortly after Annie's death. The day after Annie's murder, Schrian had spent hours on the website.

1:07:47 Gatar, I don't what is the website? Gatar. I think you can figure that out, Okay. Typically, male seeking may judging exactly. Leopold Leser was called to testify, but his time on the stand was cut short when the judge questioned the relevance of his evidence. She barred him from describing a conversation in which Schriann admitted that he wasn't sure he wanted to go through with the wedding. But the trial ultimately turned on the credibility of the state's key witnesses, and this is where the prosecution's case collapsed. Although Zola Tongo took the stand, the court also considered the earlier statements and confessions of the other men involved, and those accounts were riddled with contradictions. They didn't just differ on small points, they conflicted on nearly ever, every major element of the alleged plot. When Srian supposedly approached them, what was said, how the plan was arranged, and who carried out which part The judge noted that Tongo's testimony quote conflicted in virtually every material respect with a physical evidence, and that the shifting versions left the court with no coherent, reliable narrative. Boy Ye further undermining the state's case, where allegations from two of the men that their confessions had been coerced claims that they were beaten with flashlights or suffocated with plastic bags. The police vehemently deny these claims, but whether they were true or not, the accusations cast

1:09:17 additional doubt on their statements that the prosecution was relying on. Then came the issue of the missing text messages. The prosecution insisted that incriminating text messages had been exchanged between Shriann and Tongo from the back seat of the taxi, but the messages were never found. Schrian's phone was never recovered, and sell tower records only proved that messages were sent, not what they said. So this part, to me is very frustrating. We know that there were many text messages sent between Tongo and Shriann between the time that he picked them up from the airport until the time of the kidnapping. We don't know what the test much is They could have been innocuous. It could have been just like, hey, pick us up, but there were definitely at the time that they were in the backseat of the taxi. There were several messages exchanged during that time, so it's hard to think that they wouldn't have been.

1:10:17 Nefarious unless they were like chatting with each other, trying to plot, trying to figure out a way out of the situation. But yeah, it seems pretty suspicious. By the time the state rested on day twenty three, the judge found the evidence so unreliable and contradictory that she invoked Section one seventy four of South Africa's Criminal Procedure Act, ruling that no reasonable court could convict on the prosecution's case alone. As a result, the trial was dismissed before the defense had to present a single witness. Sriandwani was a free man. He left the courtroom legally cleared, but far from vindicated. In the public eye. For the Hendoja family, the verdict offered no closure or only more questions about what really happened to Annie that night, and no reliable witnesses left to answer them.

1:11:07 And when a case is dismissed in this way in South Africa is can they retry him at some point if they find new evidence or is it done? I found that their judicial system seems very similar to ours, and he was acquitted, so he cannot be tricked. Okay, So it was actually like an acquittal, not just okay, getcha. After Shriann was acquitted in twenty fourteen, Annie's family pushed for a formal inquest in the UK, hoping it would finally answer the lingering questions about her death. An inquest was opened in twenty six sixteen, but it soon stalled. The key witnesses were all in South Africa and refused to participate unless granted immunity, something the UK could not offer them without their testimony. The coroner determined that the inquest could not reach meaningful findings and formally closed it in twenty seventeen. No conclusions were issued beyond acknowledging that Annie had been unlawfully killed. The Hendocha family, it was another devastating setback, yet another process that ended without answers.

1:12:06 So frustrated. I'm so sad for them because you can see in Vanode's eyes especially just heartbroken. And just did not have the answers to get closure. That's just so hard. Yeah. Annie Hendocha deserves to be remembered for the life she lived, not just the way it ended. She was warm, witty, thoughtful, and deeply loved by her friends and family, who called her the glue that held them together. She was quick with a compliment and made people feel comfortable and happy in her presence. Those closest to her describe a young woman full of energy and compassion, someone who brought people together and cared fiercely for those around her. She was building a future she was excited about, with plans and dreams that she should have had years to unfold. Her loss has left a profound void in the lives of everyone who knew her that they still feel today, haunted by the unanswered questions. Rest in peace. Anni Zola Tango was released in June twenty twenty two after serving twelve years in prison. Annie's family had successfully blocked his release during his first parole hearing in twenty twenty. Forensic testing has later revealed that Mngeni was actually not the shooter.

1:13:22 Shrian now lives in London, where he serves as director of Evolved Care Group, a company that operates eight nursing and care homes across the UK. He is reportedly in a long term same sex relationship with a Brazilian photographer, and he is on social media in twenty eighteen. This was horrible. I was so sad when I read this. But Noode was in an industrial accident and his arm was ripped off his body. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital in hopes of saving his arm. I hadn't read any subsequent reports, but they thought that they would be able to reattach It. Yeah, he was going to be okay. The Handojas were very touched by the support that they received from the South African people, who were mostly furious when Srian Dowani was acquitted. They felt that the investigation was under resourced, while Shrian's strong legal team and years of delays stemming from his illness and extradition worked at his advantage. By the time he finally went to trial, public outrage had cooled, and his eventual acquittal left many feeling the process had been a sham. Many citizens were offended that Shrian used the nation's crime problem as a scapegoat for his own motives, damaging their national reputation they had been working so hard to rebuild. People thought that he planned the honeymoon in South Africa because of the high murder rate, because you know, he felt like he could get away with the thing.

1:14:51 Yeah. I want to thank our listener Natasha for all her for her help investigating. She pointed out that locals all also said his version of events never made sense. No tourist or taxi driver would ever visit a township at nine pm, And Natasha said that many believe that the system failed Annie and her family. Yeah, sure seems like it. I'm not sure what to think about this case. Was it a random carjacking, a plot to kidnap two wealthy foreigners and strip them of their cash and valuables, or was it a murder plot arranged by Srianne Dewanie. I don't know what to think of it either, because none of it really makes sense, Like the carjacking doesn't make it doesn't make sense that they would kill someone.

1:15:37 I'm sure it does happen occasionally, but somebody is carjacking a car, they're doing it for money, and you wouldn't want to get involved in something as serious as a murder if you can help it. But at the same time, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Sriann would have her killed, like right after they got married and their marriage wasn't even official yet, so it just seems that seems a little weird too, But it seems more likely than the carjacking to. Me, or you could say, because their marriage wasn't official, like he didn't know her anything, you know, like had they been officially married, he would have had. To have financially, it would have been it would have. Been more advantageous for her to be murdered on the honeymoon. Yeah, then he would have owed her family. I guess some of the estates, right.

1:16:24 And I guess maybe he felt like, you know, if he was either bisexual or gay, like maybe he just as of the as things led up to the wedding, maybe he started feeling like he was, you know, living a double life, or it wasn't the right life that he had planned and maybe that's. Why, right, or it could give him more time, you know, with without coming out to his family, right like, well, I'm just grieving my wife, and yeah, I did want to go over the evidence one more time quickly, just so you can remember the inculplatory and extra culplatory evidence. Sriann allegedly told Leopold Lyser that he didn't want to marry Annie and needed a way out. He hit his bisexuality from Annie and visited gay escort on porn sites during the honeymoon. Cc TV showed Sriann entering the hotel ten minutes after Annie. Cell tower data showed the text messages between Srian and Tongo from the back of the taxi, Although we have no idea what they said. Tongo claimed that Shriann discussed a staged carjacking, payment and killing Annie.

1:17:32 Many on Tongo's of Tongo's claims were backed up by CCTV footage or cell phone data, so he did lie, but a lot of the things he said he didn't know that they had that the CCTV footage, but a lot of it did fit the footage. So Shrian's account of being thrown from the car changed and he had no injuries. His statements after the attack shifted, and interviews and the media. Annie's family said that she had expressed fear and thrown her engagement ring before she remember when she took off her engagement ring, and a lot of the text messages. I didn't read all of them from her cousin did show that she had reservations. There were some gaps in the timeline the exculpatory evidence. All key witnesses have multiple accounts, and they all lied. Sriann also lied, though about certain things. He had emphatically denied any questions about his sexuality. Two suspects were allegedly beaten. The incriminating text messages from the back of the taxi were never recovered.

1:18:36 There is no forensic or physical evidence linking Sriann to planning anything, no DNA fingerprints, no payments or digital trace his defense I forgot to mention this set that the money that he had exchanged was he wanted to surprise Annie with a helicopter tour and he had to pay cash, and that's why he needed the money. All the men that were accused light under oath. There was no financial motive for Annie's murder. We talked about this a little bit before, but the unlikelihood that Sriann met Tango and then, you know, moments later it was like, hey, you know, can you help me kill my wife? Right? The honeymoon photos and witness accounts showed normal behavior. There was a lot of footage of Shriann and Annie, and they looked pretty happy. They didn't they looked not very romantic, but they were smiling and laughing together. Yeah, although I did notice in a lot of the footage that I saw that Shrian was often walking ahead of Annie.

1:19:35 Okay, so a lot of what you listed as exculpatory evidence, it's more that they didn't have solid evidence to convict him less. It's less that they had other potential you know, motives, or other potential suspects or things like that. So I guess, looking back on my earlier statement that I really have no idea, I now feel a little more strongly that Srian probably was involved in this. If I had to guess, I would also agree that Srian probably had something to do with it. One thing that I have a hard time with is Tango and the taxi mm hmm. Like he wasn't an official taxi service.

1:20:15 I think he was just kind of taking money money under the table, yep. But why would he allow a murder to take place in his taxi? Yeah? And I don't think it was even his car. It was his wives or a girlfriends or something. But that is A good A good point. That's seems very strange. Yeah, I don't understand why he would agree to do that for so little money. Yeah, maybe the murder taking place in the car wasn't something he had planned. Maybe it was something that happened that he was not on board with. Right, It's possible that Annie was fighting back, especially after Shrian left the vehicle, right, and they didn't know what to do with her, because she does strike me as you know, a powerful woman who might fight back. And the gunshot was maybe five or six centimeters from her face, So it's possible that, you know, she got in their face and fought men. You know, they just shot her in the four you know, shot her in the I'm sorry neck, right, because she was fighting back so hard. Yeah, So you don't think justice was Do you think justice was served?

1:21:18 No? I mean it's very frustrating, you know the fact that all of these men had different testimony, and it seems like the decision made by the judge in this case was probably not the wrong decision, but it's I don't know if it was the investigation was botched, or that so much time had passed that their stories started differing. But no, I think justice was definitely not served. Do you think that Shriann's mental health issues were fabricated or real? Remember that he fought extradition for four years because of his mental health. Yeah, it wouldn't be surprising. They had a pretty good team of lawyers, so I think that I'm sure his distress was real in the beginning, but the four years, you know, was probably extreme.

1:22:01 I mean, I have no idea, but yeah, it sounds very plausible that that was something that was just used to delay as long as possible. So if Shrian didn't plot Annie's murder, the alternate theory would be that Zola Tongo arranged the kidnapping and robbing. Robbing the tourists, right, And that doesn't seem super plausible to me either. Something that I'm not sure if I expressed, like these four men they weren't like in a gang together. The only one that had a record, I believe, was Bengeni, and they were loosely associated like Sola Tango only knew the hotel receptionist person and the hotel receptionist person heal, I'm sorry, I don't want to say their names wrong anymore.

1:22:49 She knew Quabe but he didn't know in bengeny Okay. So yeah, it's very just not like they were a gang that was working together, right. And it's not like Sola is going to arrange to have his own car carjacked, So that doesn't make any sense. So yeah, it but the fact that the car was left there was strange too because a lot of people said, like, well, normally in South Africa that car would have been right, it would have been dismantled for parts. Yeah, you would think it burned out. Well, that's the heartbreaking story of Annie Hindoka and Srian do Wani. I wanted to mention a few sources. I didn't have time to read the entire books, but I read part of a book called Bitter Dawn, The Truth about the Murder of Annie Dowani, and the book by Venode Annie do Wanni, a Father's Story. I also watched a really good documentary from HBO called Annie the Honeymoon Murder.

1:23:48 It's four parts and I thought it was really well done. So do you want to think thank all of our kind listeners for their birthday wishes? A lot of people wished you a happy birthday. It is so nice. I appreciate it. So much. It's just yeah, it's very it's heartwarming for me when people reach out stuff like that, and it's Yeah. It was a fun week too because Spotify wrapped, came out, and just so grateful for everyone who supports us and listens to us and tagged us and showed us that they are truly, truly spending a lot of minutes listening to our podcast. Although I think some of them are during their sleep hours.

1:24:33 Well, I had to do the math on a couple that you shared with me. That's many, many hours. That's a lot of hours. You're listening to us, like all the episodes more than once, which is probably because you're sleeping through them. We'll take it. Download. A download is a download. So one more sad story about the cherry chip cake. Oh yeah, I. Was really really angry. I don't know if I've been that angry in a while, because I'd ordered it a couple of weeks in advance, where it should have had time to get here, and I'm watching and looking at you know, the tracking. Sometimes people like they make the label which makes you think that oh it's been shipped but exactly for at least a week, and they didn't ship it and boy, and it didn't come in time for your birthday.

1:25:17 You did make a very nice French silk pie, though appreciated. It was all right, but I'd made the frosting and that's you know, because I was like ready, I'd made the cake crumbs that I like to put between the layers, and that didn't come either. Unacceptable. Yeah, I'm ready for next year. Though. We're gonna nail it next year. We sure one more thing I wanted to mention before we go. In the news this week, there was a story Travis Kelcey I think during his podcast, was interviewing George Clooney and they were talking about marriage. George Clooney has been married to his lovely wife a Mall for I think ten years or so, and Travis Kelsey has been with Taylor for two and a half years.

1:25:57 Issh. They were talking about how they don't fight and people both yeah and George Clean, I mean George Clean was like, what do I have to fight about? You know, my wife and I agree on most things, and you know, I don't believe it. We have money, and then Travis Kelsey said, yeah, I mean Taylor and I have never had a fight. Either, and people online were saying, you don't have a real relationship, then I don't believe it. Blah blah blah. I'm curious what your take is on that. I kind of agree with people online, like if you if you have truly been together for two years and you haven't had a fight, that's not a good sign. That's interesting. Why do you think that, because you're going to disagree about things, and you can fight in a way that's respectful and you know, mature, but you're gonna have I just I just can't believe it.

1:26:47 That's funny because I disagree with you, really and I'm going to have a fight with you. I guess we really don't fight, but. We have, and we did in the for you know, I mean, we've made there for a long time, right, but we have. I don't think we fought very much in the beginning at all. No, I guess we did the first year, but I guess we don't fight as much now as we did then. Sure, Yeah, yeah, I was a little more fiery. I think you've warned me, you've worn me down. I'm a shadow, but I used to be, which I'm grateful for for the most part. But in George Clooney's situation, and you know Travis and Taylor, Like, what do you fight about when you have billions of dollars? Like? Yeah, But I think it's because not all fights are about money. I would think that all of those people, except maybe a Mall I don't really know that much about her, but all those people have pretty big egos.

1:27:38 And I think when you have a big ego, Look who's talking. I think when you have a big ego, you're likely to get into fights about things because you were like, I'm always right about things like I just you know, I'm not talking about myself. Do you think has a bigger ego? Rich or Tina? I probably me? No comment. I forgot to ask you one important question regarding the case. So Surean claimed that he was forced out of the back of the taxi at gunpoint and left Annie behind you, what would you do in that situation.

1:28:20 I know what you would do, but I'm curious what you would what you would say you would do. I would jump in front of that gun and wrestle it away from the person and say you are not taking my way. And that's where we will leave this discussion. Again. Thank you to Natasha for recommending this case the popcorn. It's delicious. I don't think I'm gonna make popcorn like this every time, but I've been munching on it during the show. It's really good. Yeah. So again, it's just like, put just a few spices in there, like heavy on the smoked paprika, salt, sugar, little cayenne pepper and garlic powder, and I think it was great. So you were going to put a link to our mercy are in the show notes.

1:29:01 I will do that. Please don't feel obligated. A lot of people have asked throughout the year, do you guys have merch and I've said no, and this whole time we actually did. I don't know who wouldn't be thrilled on Christmas morning to open up a Love Mary Kill hoodie. Won't get here on time for Christmas, so. Nice try two years. Thank you so much for listening. Please rate, review, follow, and subscribe, Find us on social media, or send us an email at Lovemary Kill dot com for not email for a minute, and find us on YouTube. One of these days when I search for Love Mary Kill, Love Mary Kill. The podcast is going to come before the booby called Love Mary Kill.

1:29:41 We can hope. Consider supporting us on patreon dot com slash love Mary Kill. We have one tier five dollars a month and you get early ad free access, plus a monthly bonus episode and. Our eternal gratitude. Yes until next time. Don't kill your wife and don't kill your husband. To PA To back the