A Knysna man charged with killing his girlfriend and defeating the ends of justice was denied bail on Tuesday in the local magistrate’s court.
Mervyn Bock, 40, is accused of strangling Velia Strydom, 39, at his Trotter Street flat in Knysna in early December 2025.
It is alleged he later wrapped up her lifeless body, bundled it into a vehicle and dumped it near a gravel road at Red Bridge, outside Knysna.
Bock told the court he would plead not guilty to the charges.
Strydom’s body was found in an advanced state of decomposition on December 12.
During the bail application ruling, after a lengthy argument between the defence and state, magistrate Lyndall Jansen denied bail for the accused.
Jansen said Bock had failed to provide any exceptional circumstances other than that he was a father.
“From the evidence, and the court cannot ignore this evidence, the applicant transported and disposed of the [victim]... He attempted to conceal the death of the deceased ... He misled others through electronic communications.
“The fact that you could not cross the first hurdle of proving exceptional circumstance on this level means the application must fail,” Jansen said.
The matter was postponed to May 7 for further investigation.
Strydom’s uncle, Warrick Langisa, said he was relieved at the magistrate’s decision.
“We were looking forward to the decision. We were waiting for this for three months.
“We are happy bail has been denied, for safety’s sake, especially for Velia’s children who are traumatised by all of this,” he said.
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