Cape Town - Three days after murder accused, Reghard Groenewald struck Hillary van Rooyen with a pot plant, he sent her husband a text message offering his condolences.
In a continuation of the testimony by arresting officer Captain Werner Bothma, the Western Cape High Court heard grieving husband Derek van Rooyen, received a text message from Groenewald and his girlfriend.
The message read: “Hi this is Reggie and Kayleigh, friends of Luke. We would like to just give our condolences to you and your family.”
Van Rooyen, 52, was found by police on the floor of her home on May 9, 2017. There were no signs of a break-in. An iPhone 6, a set of keys, a brown leather holder and a remote to the property had been taken.
Groenewald was identified on CCTV footage, which shows him entering the property after 11am and leaving 40 minutes later.
Groenewald made a confession on May 23, 2017 just five hours after his arrest. In the confession, he admits to visiting Van Rooyen on the day she died. He alleges that as he was leaving the house, she threatened him.
“I grabbed the closest thing I could – it was a pot plant – and hit her head with it,” Groenewald said.
The first respondent to arrive at the scene, Constable Stoffel Koopman,from Durbanville SAPS, said: “I tried to enter the house. The front door struggled to open completely. A woman’s body was on the ground. Her head was lying in a pool of blood,” he said.