/ 21 December 2007

Rugby star briefly in court on attempted-murder charge

Former Springbok hooker James Dalton, accused of attempting to murder his wife, Andrea, appeared briefly in the Pretoria Regional Court on Friday.

Dalton (35) was arrested in November after he handed himself over to the Boschkop police, about a week after his wife had laid the charge.

She claimed in court papers that he had attempted to drown her in the bath and then tried to smother her with a dress. She also claimed that he had often threatened her.

She has indicated that she will file for divorce and applied for a high court interdict against her husband.

During his first appearance, Dalton was released on bail of R1 000. He is not allowed any contact with his wife and had to hand over his passport to the police.

His wife has, in the meantime, moved out of their Silver Lakes home and has been placed in a ”safe house” by Mike Bolhuis of Specialised Security Services.

Dalton’s advocate, Jack Gerber, told the court that there is a possibility that the charge of attempted murder could later be changed to a lesser one.

The case against Dalton was postponed to February 4 for further investigation. — Sapa