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High profile murder case starts
05/11/2007 11:16 - (SA)
Christiaan Cloete
Knysna - The trial of the DJ and barman, Heinie van Rooyen, who is charged with murdering two young women, begins in the Circuit Court on Monday.
Van Rooyen plans to plead not guilty on all six counts. He is charged with murder, rape, indecent assault and contempt of court, among others.
DNA-tests revealed that Van Rooyen's semen was found on the bodies and underwear of both women.
Van Rooyen is being charged with murdering Jessica Wheeler, 19, and Victoria Stadler, 20, two years ago.
Wheeler's body was discovered in a church garden in Knysna's main road on October 13 2005.
It was found that she was sodomised and smothered to death in the mud after the brutal act.
Will deny guilt
Stadler's decayed body was found about a month later, on November 11 2005, in the bush in the Hornlee area.
Both the women were seen with Van Rooyen in the Zanzibar club in Knysna's main road on the evenings they went missing.
The father of the accused, Izak van Rooyen, said on Sunday that he and his entire family believe Heinie to be innocent and they stand by him 100%.
Izak says that he and his wife have visited their son plenty of times in jail since his arrest.
Van Rooyen's attorney, Lunen Meyer, paid a visit to his client on Sunday where he's being held at the Knysna prison.
Van Rooyen's bail application attempt failed in December last year. The results of the DNA tests were then made available.
Since then he was held in Oudtshoorn. He was transferred to Knysna for the trial just recently.
Meyer confirmed that Van Rooyen will deny guilt on all six charges.
"Tomorrow we'll try to work out an agreement to make sure that the trial is shorter," he said.
According to Meyer the witnesses will be taking the stand from Tuesday.
The reason the case was postponed this long, is because Adv Christhénus van der Vijver, State Prosecutor, Terry Price, the advocate for the defence and the chief investigating officer, Director Attie Trollip, already had their hands full with the Inge Lotz murder trial in the Cape High Court.
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