A man accused of killing his young wife and dumping her body in a shallow grave 18 years ago has pleaded not guilty in court . Steven Fesus is accused of murdering his wife Jodie Fesus after her body was found near a popular camping spot at Gerroa on the NSW south coast 16 years ago . The security guard was arrested in 2013 over her alleged murder and was arraigned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday . Steven Fesus walked from NSW Supreme Court on Friday carrying a newborn baby after he pleaded not guilty to killing his wife Jodie in 1997 . Jodie , then 18 , was reported missing from the couple 's home near Wollongong in August 1997 after recently returning home from their honeymoon . Roughly one month later , her body was uncovered in a shallow grave at Seven Mile Beach after police were tipped off by an anonymous caller . Fesus , who lived in the same suburb with the couple 's children for 15 years , denied involvement in Jodie 's death and maintained she had disappeared . He was arrested just one week after his teenage daughter Kimberley made a public appeal for information about the suspected murder of her mother . Jodie , then 18 , was reported missing from the couple 's home near Wollongong in August 1997 after recently returning home from their honeymoon . Kimberley and her brother Dylan were both at court when their father appeared shortly after his arrest . Despite having several requests for bail denied , Fesus was granted bail under NSW 's new risk management bail laws last year . Fesus appeared at the NSW Supreme Court on Friday and will go to trial on October 12 . It 's expected to last eight weeks due to the 'significant ' number of witnesses listed . The security guard was arrested in 2013 over her alleged murder after repeatedly denying any involvement in his wife 's murder for 15 years . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Steven Fesus is accused of murdering his wife Jodie Fesus 18 years ago . The couple had been married for 15 years, and were expecting their first child together.