Aleyka Shaik
Image: Supplied
The bail application of a Pietermaritzburg man accused of stabbing and killing his former wife, Aleyka Shaik, was adjourned for verification of an alternative address.
Keith Chetty, 39, was arrested and charged with the murder of 34-year-old Shaik, who was five months pregnant.
He appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court today (Tuesday).
Chetty and Shaik shared a seven-year-old daughter together.
It is alleged that an argument ensued between Shaik and Chetty while she was picking up their daughter from his home in Northdale on March 29.
At the time, Shaik’s husband, Tristen (Aahil) Arjuna, alleged his wife was ambushed while seated in her vehicle.
He said the daughter witnessed her mother being stabbed to death, and had recounted the details to him.
“The suspect allegedly entered the front passenger seat and told Aleyka, ‘I would never want you to be happy’, before he stabbed her in the stomach. He then allegedly stabbed her again in the back as she leaned forward.”
Keith Chetty
Image: Supplied
He said the daughter managed to escape from the vehicle and ran for help.
Arjuna alleged that Chetty’s family came outside and took the daughter to the back of the house, but did not stop him from stabbing my wife.
He claimed that when an injured Shaik tried to jump off the vehicle to get to her daughter, she was attacked again and stabbed multiple times.
“She collapsed near the vehicle and died at the scene,” he said.
Speaking to the POST on Tuesday, Arjuna said there were no suitable reasons to mitigate his release on bail.
“I have not just lost a wife but the mother to my twins, and a mother to her little daughter. I cannot believe I am living this life without Aleyka. Not seeing her every day and going through life without her by our side has broken not just me, but her daughter, parents, family members and friends.
“Waking up every day and not hearing her, seeing her beautiful smile or listening to her laugh has shattered me. His actions has robbed all of us of a gentle, happy and humble person who lived to enjoy every moment with her family and friends. He should not be granted bail for the pain he has caused in our lives,” he said.
The case was adjourned to next week.