'I loved Jana with all my heart'

2008-09-05 22:21

Pretoria - A Schoemansville factory manager accused of killing his common-law wife burst into tears on Friday when he read a letter she had written him.

He told the Pretoria High Court he had loved her and never wanted to hurt her.

Richard van Ameron, 33, testified that he could not recall shooting Jana Venter in June 2005.

Van Ameron has denied guilt to charges of attempting to murder and murdering Venter, claiming he was not accountable for his actions because of low blood sugar levels.

He said he had been a victim of Venter's volatile and violent behaviour.

Van Ameron cried when he read a letter she had written to beg his forgiveness for treating him unfairly. She wrote that she hoped they and their daughter, Nikita, could have a future together.

'She was my everything'

"I loved Jana with all my heart. She was my everything. I would have done anything for her. Physically she was the most beautiful person," Van Ameron testified.

"After she moved back (having left him at one stage), we worked very hard and things were going very well. We were happy.

"...I didn't plan this at all. I would have wanted us to be the happy grandmother and grandfather everyone talks about, one day."

Van Ameron said he and Venter moved in together shortly after meeting. She fell pregnant three months later.

He said they had a good relationship, although they had arguments about money and, on occasion, about other men in her life.

Venter moved out for a while after an incident when she attacked him by punching him on his eye, kicking him between the legs, and hitting him with a picture frame.

Day began as usual

He said he clamped his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming, and denied trying to strangle her.

The fateful day began as usual although he had very little to eat, Van Ameron testified.

He said he had about five beers while helping a friend with a car and could remember one of his friends showing him a photo of a naked woman on his cellphone, and everyone laughing about it.

"It was a pleasant evening. Jana and I didn't have an argument at all. I was dead tired and fell asleep almost immediately that night.

"Jana woke me up and started to accuse me of exchanging naked photos with Jannie (his friend)... I tried to ignore her, but she just kept on and on..."

Van Ameron said he was not sure what happened next.

"I think I told her I was going to sleep in the other room. The next thing I can remember is hearing two clicking sounds, looking down and seeing my wife on the ground. I faintly heard Nikita (their daughter) screaming."

Gun was against his own head

He said he then realised that he had his pistol against own head, and the clicking sounds were probably the trigger of the pistol being pulled.

"Jana was in front of me on the ground. I saw what looked like blood coming out of her mouth."

Van Ameron testified that he then grabbed his daughter and drove with her to Venter's parents.

He told them he had shot Jana and that she was dead.

"I accepted I had shot her because my pistol was empty and it was all I could conclude at that stage," he said.

The trial will continue on Monday.

- SAPA