The former schoolteacher from Gqeberha who allegedly killed his ex-wife, will in all likelihood plead guilty to the crime.
The state alleges that Johhny Baartman, 59, killed Desiree Baartman, 57, at the couple's Bethelsdorp home in June last year and that the murder was premeditated.
The couple still shared a home even though they were divorced.
Baartman faces an additional charge of defeating the ends of justice for allegedly concealing her body.
Police discovered Desiree's body in a stormwater drain near the Jagtersvlakte area along Stanford Road a few days after she was reported missing.
Desiree's cause of death was consistent with blunt force trauma.
During Baartman's appearance in the city's Magistrates court on Wednesday, State Prosecutor Melani Hammett asked that the matter be remanded, so that plea negotiations between the State and the defence could take place.
Rafick Ahmed, who is a Senior State Advocate at the Gqeberha High Court will handle the plea negotiations.
Baartman, who stood in the dock wearing a red t-shirt and blue denim jeans, has from the onset indicated that he wants to plead guilty.
He has undergone a psychiatric evaluation at the Fort England Hospital in Makhanda and has been declared fit to stand trial.
The accused is still in custody since abandoning his bail.
The case was remanded to 10 May.
