Man claims self-defence after he allegedly killed friend's mother with vase

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Cape Town - Murder accused Reghard Groenewald, on trial for killing his friend’s mother, Hillary van Rooyen, said he struck two fatal blows to protect himself from her alleged sexual advances. He pleaded not guilty to murder, theft and robbery charges. Instead, in his plea explanation he told the court he had been invited by the deceased to say goodbye to her before he left for his trip to teach English in China. Luke van Rooyen, the deceased’s youngest son, testified on Wednesday that he and Groenewald had mutual friends. He said when his mother told him on WhatsApp about Groenewald’s visit, he was shocked. “It was unusual - not even my best friends would ever visit my mother without informing me, and would never go on their own.” Describing his second visit - on the day of the incident - Groenewald said he borrowed petrol money from the deceased and the two of them had coffee together. “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.”

Groenewald said he hit her twice on the head with a vase to fend off her advances. He said he then fled and returned to his house where he smoked cannabis.

Hillary’s body was found lying behind a door at her home in Eversdal in a pool of blood on May 9, 2017.

On the morning of the murder, her husband, Derick van Rooyen, left the house for work at 6.10am. Hillary was home alone. At around 12.19pm, her husband got a call from the nearby school about her house keys that had been picked up and taken to the school. He called their eldest son, Dean, to check on their home, where he found his mother’s lifeless body.

Through police investigation, it was discovered that Groenewald had arrived at the house in his father’s car at 12.05 that afternoon. He was arrested at his home on May 23. The trial will continue on Monday.

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