Phiwokuhle Mothemela
“She was insanely jealous.”
These were the words of Gqeberha businessman and co-founder of Algoa Plastics, Rob Evans, during his bail hearing in the Humansdorp magistrates’ court.
Evans is charged with the murder of 36-year-old mother of two Vanessa Van Rensburg.
He is also charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and obstructing the course of justice after Van Rensburg's body was found in his Oyster Bay home on Easter Sunday.
Evans was arrested at his business in Newton Park on 9 May.
On Tuesday, he took to the stand and told the court that his relationship with Van Rensburg was good on most days.
“It was stormy on other days as she would get jealous of me if I was on my phone, or if I delayed in picking her up from visiting her children (who stay with their father).”
Evans said he did not know what made her so jealous because “I am a 58-year-old man, and she was a beautiful, younger woman.”
He also said that when she became jealous, she became angry and aggressive, raised her voice at him, and sometimes walked away.
During his evidence in chief, Evans said that he had known Van Rensburg for about 12 to 13 years, as she was a long-standing employee of his business.
“She was a jack of all trades (for the business) and we spent most of our time together.”
“I loved her, and she loved me.”
Algoa FM reported earlier that Evans told the court that alcohol played a major role in their disagreements and that van Rensburg could not "handle" her alcohol.
His lawyer, Paul Roelofse, then said, according to the toxicology report, there were traces of (unknown) drugs in her system and asked whether Evans could confirm if she used drugs.
“I don’t know. She never took drugs in front of me, but she has mentioned that she has experimented with them before,” he responded.
Speaking of the events leading up to the fateful night in Oyster Bay, Evans told the court that Van Rensburg had been sick two weeks before the trip.
According to Evans, she was coughing and complained about sore lungs.
On Good Friday, they decided to go to Oyster Bay the following day and return to Gqeberha on Easter Sunday, as they both had commitments with their children.
“She was going to do an Easter egg hunt with her children, and I would have had a braai with my daughters,” he said.
While driving to Oyster Bay, Van Rensburg allegedly complained about fractured ribs, while attributing it to "play wrestling" with her four-year-old son.
“She said he must’ve been too rough and that going forward, she would have to take it easy.”
However, when they arrived in Oyster Bay, they had a couple of whiskeys before heading to the holiday home, where they continued to drink more.
A friend invited them to a braai, and they went with him to that braai, where they drank some more.
Evans also recalled a time in February this year when Van Rensburg visited her gynaecologist, who then told her, after running tests, that she was anaemic.
“This also confirmed why she bruised so easily. The gynaecologist also suggested that she change her contraception pill because it made her moody, and that affected our relationship.”
During cross-examination by the state, Evans referred back to his initial affidavit, which he read into the court record on Friday, in which he said he was solely responsible for major operations at Algoa Plastics.
State prosecutor Bianca Burger also highlighted 'discrepancies' in Evans’ affidavit, noting that his brother, with whom he co-owns Algoa Plastics and other businesses, could cover his duties.
He agreed with the state's assertion that his affidavit was "misleading".
The matter was remanded to Wednesday for the continuation of the bail application.
Read more: Oyster Bay murder: Bay man intends to plead not guilty
