‘Brit-Indian honeymooner said couple’s relation was a disaster from start to finish’

LONDON - A fellow holidaymaker who had spend some time with the Indian-origin couple during their honeymoon in Cape Town, has testified that murdered bride Anni’s husband acted strangely during their trip, adding that she was puzzled when Shrien told her their relationship had been a “disaster from start to finish” following Anni’s death.

The Daily Mail quoted 23-year-old Chloe Spelling as saying that on the safari Shrien was angry with his wife because she was taking pictures of lions, and stopped her saying, “There’s no point taking pictures of them.”

“There were other honeymooners there from Brazil and Portugal and they were always kissing and touching. With Anni and Shrien, it was like they had been married for years,” she said.

“They weren’t at all flirtatious. They never kissed. It seemed like Anni was more smitten with Shrien. If they had a bench of the Land Rover to themselves, Shrien would sit alone on one side and Anni would slide over to be beside him. She always seemed to be seeking his approval. If she said something like, ‘We had a long flight’, she would follow it up with, ‘Didn’t we, Shrien?’,” Spelling added.

She also claimed that when she consoled Shrien about his wife’s murder, the Brit-Indian millionaire’s ‘odd’ response puzzled her because he apparently told her that: “It’s been a total disaster from start to finish”.

Anni was shot dead when the couple’s taxi was hijacked as it drove through a township outside Cape Town on November 13 last year.

Although four South Africans have been arrested in connection with the murder, and one sentenced to 18 years in prison, detectives are of the opinion that Shrien had masterminded the murder of his wife. (ANI)