Cape Town businessman arrested for wife's murder

The husband of murdered Cape Town secretary Gill Packham appeared briefly in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Rob Packham‚ 57‚ was arrested on Friday‚ about a week after Packham's charred body was discovered in the boot of her burnt out BMW. He is facing a charge of premeditated murder and the state has opposed bail.

Family and friends of Packham were seated in the second row since the opening of the court to await Rob's appearance.

Packham was declared missing by a family member on February 22 after she left home in her green BMW at 7am to go to work at the Springfield Convent School in Wynberg‚ Cape Town. She worked as a secretary at the school but she never arrived for work that day.

The body of a woman was found in the back of a burning car behind the Diep River railway station by police that evening and DNA results confirmed that it was Packham.

Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said that Diep River police detectives arrested Rob "after working tirelessly" last week.

"The family of the deceased have requested that their privacy be respected and a statement will be made by a family spokesperson in due course‚" he said.

Rob‚ a chartered accountant‚ is the general manager for the soft drink company Twizza‚ according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before that he was the CEO of Cape Cookies which‚ in 2014 joined Habitat for Humanity SA to build homes for the poor.

"There is no greater pleasure than being able to give back to the community‚ making people feel good and to bring a smile to the faces of the children!" Packham said at the time.

When TimesLIVE contacted his office last week‚ employees said he was not at work.