Durban: Gerhardus Jansen van Vuuren, a Gauteng man who murdered his ex-girlfriend and fled to Brazil in 2011, has been found guilty.
He was convicted in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court earlier today. Jansen van Vuuren fled to Brazil just days before he was due to stand trial for the murder of Andrea Venter.
Dubbed one of South Africa's 'Most Wanted fugitive', he was accused of stabbing and beating his 25-year-old ex-lover outside a Johannesburg residential complex in December 2011.
IOL reported that Venter was Rustenburg’s first test-tube baby, a miracle that her parents had waited 13 years for. Jansen van Vuuren allegedly stalked, punched and stabbed her in front of neighbours and security guards at the gated estate.
The accused tried to take his own life at the crime scene but failed.
Police said that after being granted bail, Jansen van Vuuren fled the country, using fake travel documents.
Interpol issues a warrant of arrest and he was nabbed in Brazil in August 2013. He was released two years later after serving his sentence for having fake documents.
Police said Interpol again made contact with Brazilian authorities to find Jansen van Vuuren.
At the time, Brigadier Vish Naidoo, said the accused was located and arrested in 2020. He was then brought back to South Africa to stand trial.
In handing down his ruling, Acting Judge Ian Cox said the State had succeeded in proving that Jansen van Vuuren had murdered his ex-girlfriend.
IOL