SA man pleads not guilty to wife's murder

An Adelaide man charged with the murder of his wheelchair-bound wife has elected to be tried without a jury.

Peter Rex Dansie appeared in the South Australian Supreme Court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to the drowning murder of his disabled wife, Helen, in 2017.

Marie Shaw QC, appearing for Dansie, told the court he will elect to stand trial by judge alone.

Dansie was arrested in July last year, nearly three months after his wife drowned when her wheelchair rolled into a pond in the Adelaide parklands.

At an earlier bail hearing, prosecutor Sarah Attar alleged the death of 67-year-old Ms Dansie was a planned and premeditated crime.

She said investigations by police had discounted much of what the dead woman's husband had told emergency services.

A magistrate initially refused bail but the decision was overturned in the Supreme Court and Dansie was released on strict home detention conditions, including electronic monitoring.

Dansie's bail was on Monday continued, and he will next appear before the court for a directions hearing in October.