South African trial delayed for Dane accused of mutilating women

The trial in South Africa of a Danish man accused of mutilating women and storing pieces of their genitals in his freezer was deferred on Wednesday until next month, the prosecution said.

Peter Frederiksen briefly appeared before a district magistrate court in the central city of Bloemfontein where the state asked for the case to be heard by a higher court due to the severity of the charges.

"The case was postponed to February 26. They have transferred it to a higher court, which is the regional court," Phaladi Shuping, spokesman for the National Prosecution Authority, told AFP.

Frederiksen, a 63-year-old gun shop owner, was arrested in September after police discovered frozen female genitals, surgical equipment and pornographic photographs of children at his house in Bloemfontein.

He faces a slew of charges including two counts of conspiracy to commit murder -- one linked to his wife's death -- three counts of assault, two of bigamy, and production and distribution of child pornography.

His 28-year-old wife Anna Matseliso Molise, who was set to be the state's star witness in the trial, was gunned down in October outside her house in Maseru, capital of neighbouring Lesotho.

Frederiksen was arrested in September and has been denied bail.
Source: AFP