HONEYMOON murder suspect Shrien Dewani spends hours clutching a Barbie doll he bought for his murdered wife Anni.
Distraught Dewani, 30, who is fighting extradition to South Africa, bought his wife the sari-clad doll at their wedding in India.
It was the last gift he bought her and he has been reduced to clinging to it for comfort as he grieves her death and battles allegations that he was behind her murder.
The doll stands amid photographs of Anni at the centre of a shrine he has made to her at his Bristol home.
Shrien’s family have told how he is unable to sleep and spends his days sobbing and suffering repeated flashbacks of his wife’s death.
His poor state of health emerged yesterday as the Dewani family released some of the last pictures of the couple together.
The pictures were taken at their lavish wedding ceremony in Mumbai, India, seven weeks ago just before they returned to Britain to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali before going on to Cape Town for their fateful honeymoon.
The couple are seen dancing together in traditional dress and looking very much in love as they dance to a song called Pehla Nasha, meaning true love.
Just two weeks later Anni was dead, victim of an apparent carjacking in South Africa. Soon afterwards Shrien had been accused of being involved in her kidnap.
Shrien is on medication to control his moods and receiving counselling from psychiatric experts to pull him back from the brink of a breakdown.
Family and friends are watching him round the clock and fear for his well-being as he mourns his wife’s death and battles claims by South African police that he conspired in the murder.
Shrien’s greatest comfort comes from the Barbie doll. He nicknamed Anni, 28, “My Barbie” and when he spotted the doll in a shop in Mumbai he bought it for his Swedish bride as a gift.
A member of the Dewani family said yesterday: “The Barbie was Anni’s favourite doll and it became a bit of a thing between them.
“Shrien used to call her his perfect Barbie because of her beauty and because she was always dressed up to the nines.
“Anni loved Barbie dolls when she was a child and Shrien loved it when Anni wore a sari.
“The Barbie doll is dressed in a traditional Indian sari and Shrien just clings to this doll as one of the last memories of Anni.
“She loved to pose for pictures and Shrien still has about 20 photographs at home which he constantly leafs through.
“He is broken, not just by her death but by the claims that he was involved. Everything that has been said is ridiculous. They were so much in love.
“Shrien is not coping. He has lost 18lb in weight and three inches off his waist size.
“He is like a zombie on medication and suffers awful flashbacks.
“He is receiving the counselling he needs to get through this, but he is struggling to eat or sleep and the trauma is repeating itself every day.” The wealthy businessman, who runs a care home company with his elder brother Preyen, is on £250,000 bail as he battles extradition.
His family say they plan to take legal action over claims last week that Shrien had a relationship with a German rent boy.
They also deny claims that South African police also wanted to question his brother Preyen, 31.
Two gunmen hijacked the honeymoon couple’s taxi on November 13. Shrien told police they forced driver Zolo Tongo, 31, out of the vehicle and drove off before later kicking him out, too.
Anni’s body was found the next day with a gunshot to the neck.
Tongo was last week sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping and robbery after claiming Shrien paid him and two other men to kill his wife.
Xolile Mbguni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
A family spokesman said yesterday: “We have never been contacted by the South African police.
“We don’t know what is going on but it has been strongly suggested that there is another agenda at work.”
Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/218273/-Barbie-shrine-to-bride-I-loved-so-much-/-Barbie-shrine-to-bride-I-loved-so-much-#ixzz19n5Tv1SE
