Body odour helped identify man accused of killing wife, court told

It’s been almost 30 years since Aaron Govendir claimed home invaders had broken into his Dover Heights home and bashed his wife, Denise, to death. Now, decades later, a black cable tie around the dead woman’s toes and Govendir’s distinctive body odour could see the elderly widower convicted of murder.

The 82-year-old Govendir on Monday pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and staging a break-in at their Dover Heights home on March 10, 1998.

The couple had been together since the 1960s, living in a single-storey blonde brick and brown tiled home on Dover Road. They raised two children, who were young adults in the late 1990s.

Denise, who went by Denny, for 20 years held senior positions in the Women’s International Zionist Organisation, an apolitical charity which sends money to Israel.

In 1998 she was the executive director and paid a salary of about $42,000.

Her husband ran Govendir Advertising Services from their home, which turned a profit of about $11,000 after paying him a modest salary.

But it wasn’t a rosy relationship. Prosecutors told the court that Govendir had killed his wife against the backdrop of a failing marriage.

“Mrs Govendir has instructed us the marriage has broken down irreparably,” a letter penned by Denise’s solicitors, addressed to her husband’s lawyers, said two months before her demise.

Denise, the NSW Supreme Court heard on Monday, wanted to divide the family home and part ways with her husband.

The day before the alleged murder, Govendir had been at a funeral in Bathurst and his wife had been having dinner in Bondi with a friend, Sandra Jordan.

About 9.30pm, one of their daughters attended the home on Dover Road to send a fax. That was the last time Denise was seen alive.

Just after midnight, a neighbour heard a woman’s scream.

“The accused then set about to blame fictitious home invaders for what he had done,” the Crown prosecutor told the jury at the trial’s opening on Monday.

About 2am Govendir called Triple Zero, saying he had been tied up, someone had shone a light in his face and “came in and hit me”.

He hung up and called back saying his wife “had blood all over her” and was unconscious.

“I don’t know, I think we’ve had a burglar or something,” he reiterated.

“They tied my thumbs and my toes ... I think they’ve hurt her bad.”

Police found Denise face down on the bed, covered in blood with a pillow and doona covering her body, the court heard.

Her toes were tied together with a single, black cable tie. She had extensive head lacerations and injuries suggesting blunt force trauma.

The jury will see images of the bloody crime scene, prosecutors said.

Denise was cold to the touch. Her purse was next to her, stuffed with credit cards and $240 in cash untouched.

Govendir told investigators the home invaders had knocked on his door and called out “police”.

When he opened his door, he was confronted by a person in a pointed hood, but he only saw them briefly before they knocked him out. He had his own toes tied but managed to break free, he claimed.

‘Denise’s purse was next to her body, stuffed with credit cards and $240 in cash untouched.’

The injuries to his head, one doctor remarked, were unlikely to have knocked Govendir out – they appeared to be consistent with a fingernail scratch.

But it’s the cable ties that could hold vital information, prosecutors told the jury. They were sold by BBC Hardware, with the nearest branch at the time in Rose Bay.

One hardware store clerk recalled a man in his 60s with greying hair and a beard asking for items to “tie something up”.

The woman suggested cable ties but was struck by the customer’s body odour – and called her colleague to help.

Her colleague, the prosecutors told the court on Monday, recognised the customer as Govendir – his former neighbour of 20 years.

Govendir received about $30,000 from his wife’s will.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.