- The teenager arrested for the killing of Magistrate Romay van Rooyen is understood to have been known to her.
- The 18-year-old is expected in the Simon's Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
- Van Rooyen's family had maintained that they didn’t believe her murder was a robbery gone wrong, and that she had not had any concerns regarding security.
The teenager arrested and charged with the murder of Magistrate Romay van Rooyen was among the mourners at her funeral.
The 18-year-old was arrested by the Hawks at his home in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday, three days after Van Rooyen was buried.
He is understood to have been among mourners who filled the pews of the New Apostolic Church in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, on Saturday. Van Rooyen was buried at the Muizenberg Cemetery, near her home in Marina da Gama, where her lifeless body was found two weeks ago.
It is believed that she was strangled.
Van Rooyen, a former prosecutor who was appointed to the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court last year, lived alone. She spent her weeks in the West Coast town of Langebaan to be close to work, returning to Cape Town over weekends.
News24 understands that there was no sign of forced entry at her house in Red Roman Street, but that one of the doors had been found to be unlocked.
Her family grew concerned when she failed to collect her nephew in Maitland as planned. Calls to her cellphone went straight to voicemail.
Her bereft father, Roman, found his daughter's body that afternoon when he used his key to get in and check up on her.
He told News24 that nothing appeared out of place. None of her valuables were missing, except for her vehicle.
It was found abandoned in Mitchells Plain the day after her murder.
Her brother Tasswell has described Romay as someone who lived for her family, ensuring that her nieces and nephews had everything they needed, while also being willing to pay for them to pursue their tertiary education.
They had been vocal about their belief that robbery had not been the motive for her murder. She also didn’t have security concerns, according to her family, despite her occupation.
Police Minister Bheki Cele described the magistrate’s murder as an "attack on the state", and had handed the investigation over to the Hawks.
Spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the teen had been linked to the murder and then traced to his home in a multi-disciplinary operation.
He will appear in the Simon's Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.