Cape Town - A warrant of arrest for Reghard Groenewald, a man on trial for the murder of Eversdal accountancy tutor Hillary van Rooyen, has been issued, but will only take effect if he fails to show up in court again today.
The murder trial was supposed to continue at the Western Cape High Court on Monday, but was postponed after Groenewald, who is out on bail, failed to make an appearance.
His lawyer, advocate Ross McKernan, told the court he did not know his client’s whereabouts.
Van Rooyen, 52, was found dead at her home on May 9, 2017. There were no signs of a break-in. An iPhone 6 valued at R10000, a set of keys and a remote control to the property were taken.
Groenewald was identified on CCTV footage by Van Rooyen’s son, Luke van Rooyen, who was a friend of his. The footage showed a young man dressed in a hoodie and sunglasses entering the property just after 11am and leaving 40 minutes later.
He is facing a charge of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances, but has pleaded not guilty.
In his plea explanation, he told the court he had been invited by the deceased to say goodbye to her before he left for a trip to China to teach English.
Once he got there, he said he realised he didn’t have petrol money and borrowed some from Van Rooyen.
Groenewald met the deceased at Luke’s farewell party in March. Luke was moving to London.
The accused told the court he went back to the Van Rooyen home to visit the deceased on May 8, the day before the murder.
Detailing events that led to the murder, Groenewald alleges he was defending himself from being sexually violated by the deceased.
“She pressed her bosom in my back, I became uncomfortable. She grabbed me in a passionate embrace. I pushed her forcibly and she fell back on her knees and threatened to tell everyone that I assaulted her and wanted to have sex with her,” he said.
Groenewald said he hit her twice on the head with a vase to get her away from him and then fled.
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