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'He's got his life sentence, we've got ours'Date Posted: Saturday 03-May-2008By Ella Smook
"He's got his life sentence, we've got ours." So said Dusty Wheeler, mother of murdered Jessica Wheeler, after Knysna DJ Heinrich van Rooyen, 25, was convicted of killing her daughter.
Knysna circuit court Judge Nathan Erasmus on Friday found Van Rooyen guilty of the murders of Wheeler, 19, and Victoria Stadler, 20, the indecent assault of Wheeler, the torching of Stadler's car, and obstruction of justice for prompting a witness to make a false statement to police.
The State had argued that Wheeler had been seen with Van Rooyen near St George's church shortly before her murder.
| 'He's got his life sentence, we've got ours' |
Wheeler's body was found at the church grounds a few hours later on October 13.
She had multiple abrasions to her body and had choked to death on soil.
Forensic tests linked Van Rooyen's DNA to semen found in Wheeler's anus and to skin that was recovered from under the nails of her left hand.
Van Rooyen got a lift to Hornlee from Stadler on November 10.
Five days later, Stadler's decomposed body was found in the Noetzie forest, off a road near Hornlee.
| 'It does not bring her back, but at least Jess knows we went all out' |
Stadler's burnt-out car was metres away from her body.
She, too, had been sexually assaulted.
Her body was found with only a white shirt and bra on, both of which were undone.
Semen was found on her black trousers nearby.
However, it could not be established that she had been raped or sodomised.
The postmortem, which attributed death to strangulation, said there were no obvious injuries to her vagina or anus due to the body's "fairly advanced decomposition and severe maggot infestation".
Again the semen at the scene was linked to Van Rooyen.
Substantial amounts of pollen specific to the area where Stadler was killed was found on the trousers Van Rooyen usually wore when in the DJ-box.
Van Rooyen remained calm as judgment was delivered.
Speaking to the Weekend Argus - the Pretoria News Weekend's sister paper - late on Friday, Isaac van Rooyen reasserted the family's belief in his son's innocence.
"We know he is innocent, we still believe he is.
"I think the entire community - 80 percent of Knysna - believes in his innocence."
Van Rooyen's attorney, Lunen Meyer, said they were disappointed with the verdict, but would consider their options and might appeal.
Van Rooyen now faces a life sentence.
He has proclaimed his innocence since his arrest, but the families of his victims say they had been convinced of his guilt from the start.
Erasmus allowed two contested statements into evidence as well as items that were confiscated during a police search with a defective warrant.
Erasmus said it was in the public interest that the evidence be allowed, and that its admission would not impact on Van Rooyen's right to a fair trial.
About an hour and 15 minutes into the judgment, the Wheeler family seemed to realise that the State had won its case and whispers of "yes" replaced anxious silence and tears.
"The accused has alleged a massive conspiracy (against him), but there are no merits in such an argument," Erasmus said while reading out his verdict.
Erasmus described Van Rooyen's testimony as "untruthful".
Stadler's mother, Hannetjie, said she felt sorry for her daughter's murderer and pitied his parents "deep in her heart".
She said: "It is better to be murdered, than to be found guilty of having murdered."
But her assessment of Van Rooyen was not kind.
"He is a thief.
"He stole my entire investment, my entire future."
Wheeler's father, Kevin, said the conviction would help his family to get closure.
"It does not bring her back, but at least Jess knows we went all out."
"And at least we know he won't hurt someone else," said Dusty Wheeler.
The court is set to return for Van Rooyen's sentencing on May 13.
q Heinrich van Rooyen, who killed two young women. Picture: Brenton Geach
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