Former businessman Hilton Shaw, who was jailed last year for murdering his wife, walked out of prison a free man on Tuesday after a high court ruling that she probably committed suicide.
Shaw was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in December for the premeditated murder of his wife Susan.
Judge Vivienne Niles-Duner based the finding on circumstantial evidence that Shaw shot her under the arm in their country house in June 2009.
However, a full bench of three judges concluded in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday that suicide was the most probable of several theories about the cause of her death.
Delivering the appeal judgment, Judge Dhaya Pillay said the court had found Shaw to be a credible witness and that his testimony fortified the suicide theory.
Shaw's denial that he shot his wife was accepted.
The State had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty, Pillay said.
KwaZulu-Natal Acting Judge President Chimon Patel and Judge Graham Lopes concurred. -
Sapa