Fitness to plead application flagged for 86-year-old accused of murder

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged family violence.

Lawyers have announced they will file a fitness to plead application for a man accused of murdering his wife of 60 years.

Manfred Uhle is accused of killing his wife, 78-year-old Wanda Dorothy Uhle, whose body was found at their townhouse in Gordon on 2 June 2024.

He was arrested and went on to plead not guilty to murder.

The 86-year-old faced the ACT Magistrates Court over audio-visual link from custody on Friday (6 September), seated in a mobility stroller. He said he had difficulties hearing what was happening in court.

His Legal Aid lawyer told the court that the defence team had identified that his fitness to plead was an issue and wanted to put forward an application on the matter.

Magistrate Jane Campbell listed the matter for an application on 1 October.

The lawyers must file the material they will rely on in advance so the magistrate can read it.

According to court documents, Mr Uhle drove to a relative’s home at around 7 am on 2 June in his pyjamas and robe with no shoes on and appeared shaken when he arrived.

When the relative asked where Ms Uhle was, he allegedly replied, “I’ll tell you what’s happened; I just need to catch my breath”, before saying they’d had a fight and she was now sleeping.

Another relative called police to conduct a welfare check.

When officers arrived at the Gordon home, they found her naked body in the fetal position under a blanket, allegedly with wounds to her chest and wrist.

A 30 cm serrated knife was found inside, covered with a towel, along with blood in the home’s toilet, laundry and hallway.

Mrs Uhle’s cause of death was found to be blood loss as a result of multiple stab wounds.

Anyone impacted by sexual, domestic or family violence can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578. Local support services include the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) on 6280 0900, and Victim Support ACT on 1800 822 272 or 6205 2022. If this reporting has raised mental health concerns for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.