The wife of millionaire Sydney podiatrist Phillip Vasyli has been charged with murdering her husband at their luxury home in the Bahamas, police have confirmed.
Donna Vasyli appeared before a magistrate's court in the Bahamas' capital Nassau on Monday, local time, where she was formally charged with one count of murder, a spokesman for the Royal Bahamas Police Force prosecutions office said.
The 54-year-old was arrested last week following the stabbing murder of her husband, whose body was found at their luxury home in the gated community of Old Fort Bay on New Providence Island on March 24.
Mr Vasyli, who owned three podiatry clinics in Sydney and later founded the largest custom orthotic manufacturing laboratory in the southern hemisphere, suffered a single stab wound to his chest. A worker found his body just after 8am in the dining room of the home.
At the time the body was discovered, Acting Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Anthony Ferguson told reporters: "We suspect he was murdered some time during the course of the night."
The spokesman for the Royal Bahamas Police Force prosecutions office told Fairfax Media that Mrs Vasyli appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt on Monday, local time, charged with one count of murder.
"She was not required to enter a plea due to the nature of the alleged offence," he said.
Mrs Vasyli was being held in Her Majesty's Prison in Nassau, before her next scheduled court appearance on May 20.
Mrs Vasyli and her husband, together with their adult children Aron and Lauren, ran a non-profit organisation, the Vasyli Foundation, which aimed to improve the health outcomes in poor and underprivileged communities around the world.
A short biography of Mrs Vasyli on the foundation's website says she "has always been known for her kind soul and bright spirit".
"Donna's natural good will started her profession as a dental technician in Sydney, Australia before marrying Phillip and then raising their two children, Aron and Lauren," the website says.
"Truly a nurturing soul who's motherly instinct and caring values are the root of the family's moral and traditional values."
In a statement on Mr Vasyli's website last week, the family said it was "deeply saddened to announce the sudden passing of Phillip Vasyli, who died this week at his home in the Bahamas".
Mr Vasyli, who was living in the Bahamas with his wife, appeared to be revelling in the Carribean lifestyle, often posting photos on social media of beach scenes and sunsets.
His last post on social media was of a Caribbean sunset from what appears to be his home in the Bahamas with the acronym TGIF, for Thank God it's Friday.
