The Spanish dentist accused of killing his 3-year-old twins and threatening to kill his ex-wife is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Mario-César Deus Yela, 48, faces two counts of murder and a count of theft of a motor vehicle.

Yela did not appear at his previous hearing on April 12 because he was being treated in hospital for wounds to his abdomen.

He is believed to have rented a holiday home for three weeks to visit his 7-year-old son and the twins. He had apparently been due to fly back to Spain on April 6.

On April 6, Yela sent a message to his ex-wife, Julia Engelhorn, asking her to come over for lunch.

When she arrived, he allegedly told her he had killed the twins. The third child was still at school.

Engelhorn contacted her son’s school to alert them that Yela should not be allowed to pick their son up. Yela was arrested on the M3 highway.