Cape Town - After spending a week in Pollsmoor Prison, the nephew of slain Magistrate Romay van Rooyen returned to the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court for his second appearance, where he abandoned his bail application.
The 18-year-old Cassidy Hartzenberg from Woodlands, Mitchells Plain, yesterday shed a few tears while he stood in the dock, charged with the murder of his aunt.
At his last appearance he opted for Legal Aid lawyer Chane Africa, who informed the court that at this stage he would not apply for bail.
He faces two counts of murder and theft following an investigation by the Hawks into Van Rooyen’s death.
It is alleged that on Friday, September 9, he met Van Rooyen at her home, where he strangled her to death after an argument. Hartzenberg then took an undisclosed amount of cash and her vehicle, which was later recovered on Highlands Drive.
While National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Erica Ntabazalila was unable to confirm or deny whether the motivation for the attack was related to an alleged drug problem, he said witnesses had been identified.
“We are going to oppose bail because we strongly believe he knows who the witnesses are and there was a likelihood that he may interfere with or even threaten them,” Ntabazalila said.
When asked about the strength of the State’s case, Ntabazalila said: “He has a case to answer. We have a process in place where we go through the evidence and decide which person needs to be charged. There is evidence against him, at this stage evidence only leads to him and nobody else.”
As Hartzenberg appeared with tears in his eyes before Magistrate Lutvie van Rhodie, his father, Deon Hartzenberg briefly leaned over from the gallery to speak to his son.
Outside court, Deon said the family were coping with the tragedy.
Van Rooyen’s body was found in her Marina da Gama home on September 10. The Vredenburg magistrate was still in her work robes when her father discovered her body. The matter was postponed to November 8 for further investigation.