‘I struck her a bit hard!’ Man, 72, admits to killing wife who vanished in 1973

The moment that a 72-year-old man admitted killing his wife at their Yorke Peninsula home back in 1973 has been played out in court, reports 7News.

Jurors were played video footage of Geoffrey Adams’ confession to police in 2018, having maintained his innocence in relation to his wife Colleen’s disappearance for more than four decades.

Colleen, who shared two daughters with husband Geoffrey, went missing from the family’s South Australian home in November 1973. She was just 24 years old at the time. According to news.com.au, Geoffrey had previously told police that his wife suffered post-natal depression and said “goodbye, you little bastards” to their daughters, before she packed her bags and left of her own accord.

Accused murderer Geoffrey Adams has sobbed in court as the jury was played chilling video of his confession to killing his wife almost 50 years ago. After maintaining his innocence for decades, Adams came clean, telling detectives his wife's constant nagging caused him to snap. pic.twitter.com/Btq2mmSkFR

— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) August 13, 2020

However in September 2018, 45 years after Colleen vanished without a trace, Adams admitted to killing his wife, whose remains were found buried in the back yard of the property, after striking her twice with a metal object. He has pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

According to multiple reports, the accused cried in court as the footage of his confession was played out. Asked what pushed him to kill his wife, Adams said it was her constant “having a go” at him.

He had previously admitted to police that the couple would “push and shove” each other, but claimed they never hit hard. However, in footage played in court as part of the ongoing trial, Adams told police: “I just struck her a bit hard and that was it. She fell to the floor and then she died.”

The trial is ongoing.