The Gqeberha high court believes it is highly probable that businessman Rob Evans will be found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Vanessa van Rensburg.
With the mounting evidence — including blood stains, strangulation marks and broken glass — Evans’ second bid for bail was shot down on Tuesday.
Not only did the court find the evidence to be stacked against him, but judge Nyameko Gqamana said he was in agreement with the lower court’s finding that the alleged attack was premeditated — and not a spur-of-the-moment incident.
“I’m acutely aware that the appellant [Evans] must be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Gqamana said.
“But in light of his decision not to provide an explanation regarding the death of the deceased who died in his sole presence, it is highly improbable that he will be acquitted.”
The judge further noted that Evans had failed to discharge the onus placed on him to show that exceptional circumstances existed, permitting his release on bail.
After the decision was read out, Evans’ disappointed family seated in the public gallery struggled to hold back their emotions.
He was not in court.
Evans had taken the Humansdorp Regional Court’s decision not to grant him bail on appeal to the high court, with his lawyers arguing that the magistrate had erred in finding the alleged offence to be Schedule 6 (premeditated murder).
This had set the bar much higher for Evans and his legal team to show why he should be released from custody.
On Tuesday morning, however, his hopes at a second chance were dismissed.
Gqamana said he had not been convinced by the argument from attorney Paul Roelofse that there was no evidence of premeditation leading to the death of Van Rensburg on April 19.
The couple had been in Oyster Bay over the Easter long weekend when Van Rensburg was strangled and beaten to death in Evans’ holiday home.
Witnesses claimed that before that they had heard the couple having a heated argument.
Van Rensburg had about 23 injuries to her body, including strangulation marks around her neck.
Blood spatters were found on the curtains and floor, while glass, allegedly from the broken whisky bottle which was smashed over her head, lay scattered on the floor.
It is the state’s case that only Evans and Van Rensburg were present in the house at the time.
Evans, a father of three and co-owner of Algoa Plastics in Newton Park, has been in custody since May 9.
Focusing on the grisly scene on the night of the murder, the judge said there was blood on the floor, the curtains, the couch and the sink.
“There was no evidence that [Evans] was bleeding and that such blood stains came from him.
“[Evans] provided no explanation for how the deceased sustained such injuries, but that information lies solely within his knowledge.
“The only reasonable inference to be drawn is that ... the wounds on the deceased must have been inflicted by [Evans].
“With all this evidence; the blood stains, the strangulation and the broken glass, it was not a spur of the moment attack. The murder was premeditated.”
Gqamana said Evans’ actions from 10pm that fateful night, when Van Rensburg was already dead, correlated with the argument of premeditation.
He was seen by a neighbour, presumably after the murder had already occurred, seated on a couch.
Hours passed and it was only at 1.33am that he eventually called Calibre Security for help.
“If the death of the deceased was a shock to him, his actions would have been different.
“Accordingly, I find there was no misdirection by the magistrate in her finding that the murder was premeditated.
“[Evans] elected not to comment on the merits of the case based on the advice of his legal team.”
Gqamana said on the other hand, senior state advocate Marius Stander “went to town” to demonstrate the strength of the prosecution’s case.
Looking at other exceptional circumstances supporting bail, he noted the argument that, as a wealthy businessman with his business interests and properties all in Nelson Mandela Bay, Evans was not a flight risk.
Evans was furthermore a good father and financially responsible for his children and his wife, though they were in the process of getting divorced.
The judge also noted the defence’s argument that Evans was not a violent man and that, while his relationship with Van Rensburg was volatile, and she had allegedly on occasion attacked him, he had never assaulted her.
However, Gqamana also highlighted several incidents presented by the state, including one occasion when Evans had dropped Van Rensburg off at her ex-fiancé’s house.
According to the ex-fiancé and father of her two young children, she was bleeding.
She had also sent a photograph to a friend of what appeared to be strangulation marks on her neck.
“All these incidents combined do justify the court’s finding that the appellant has a disposition to violence.
“Therefore, if the appellant were to be released on bail, [it] would create a perception from the community that the courts are not sympathetic to gender-based violence cases.
“That to me would undermine the public peace and jeopardise the objectives of the criminal justice system.
“On consideration of the evidence as a whole, I cannot find that the magistrate over-emphasised the factors against the release of the appellant and that those favourable to him were not given sufficient weight.
“For that reason, this court is not at liberty to interfere with her decision.
“The appellant failed to discharge the onus of probabilities that exceptional circumstances exist which in the interests of justice permit his release on bail.”
The Herald
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