An aspiring English teacher who murdered his friend’s mother he claimed had come on to him, should have had the foresight that beating her with a glass vase could result in her death.

This was the judgment of Judge Derek Wille, who convicted Reghard Groenewald of murdering Hilary van Rooyen, 52, inside her Durbanville home two years ago.

Her son had found her dead body in May 2017 after he had gone to check on her when her house keys, which Groenewald had taken and discarded, were picked up and handed in at a local primary school. Only her cellphone had been missing from the house.

Groenewald said he had visited Van Rooyen on May 8, 2017 - the day before she was killed – because he wanted to say goodbye ahead of leaving the country to teach English abroad.

At a farewell party held for Van Rooyen’s younger son – the accused’s high school friend - before he went to the UK, Groenewald said he and his then girlfriend told Van Rooyen about their plans and she asked him to come and greet her before he left the country.

He drove about 100m to 150m before he ran out of petrol and he returned to Van Rooyen's house to borrow R100.

She gave him the money and he promised to return it the next day.

Groenewald had testified that on the day of the murder, Van Rooyen made advances on him and an argument ensued when he rejected her.

He pushed her and she fell, he admitted, and she held onto his pants and threatened to tell everyone he had tried to rape her. He then assaulted her.

Groenewald claimed a vase was the nearest object he could grab to "hit the deceased off me".

He took the house keys and cellphone but got rid of it after fleeing the house.

Judge Wille also convicted Groenewald of theft of Van Rooyen’s R10 000 cellphone.

More to follow.