GQEBERHA – Gqeberha businessman Rob Evans appeared briefly at the Gqeberha High Court today, 22 July, for his pre-trial conference.
Evans is accused of premeditated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice of his then 36-year-old girlfriend, Vanessa van Rensburg, in April 2025.
The court heard that Evans’s defence had received all the necessary documents against him and indicated that they would be ready for the trial.
As he stepped down from the dock, Evans thanked his family members present in court, seemingly thanking them for their support and presence.
PE Express extensively reported the case, stating in 2025 that Evans broke down in tears while reading his bail statement at the Humansdorp Magistrate’s Court. Evans firmly stated he would not plead guilty and argued he was the sole provider for his wife and three daughters, emphasising his critical role at Algoa Plastics.
During his bail application, Evans painted a picture of his 13-year relationship with van Rensburg as mostly blissful, describing it as “99% fairytale, 1% stormy.” He portrayed van Rensburg as a loved partner who became volatile and aggressive when consuming alcohol. Evans revealed he had known her since she first worked at Algoa Plastics, where he described her as a great worker in accounts and sales.
State Prosecutor Bianca Burger presented evidence of what she called a pattern of violence by Evans, including images and videos of past incidents. She detailed an incident at the Old Grey restaurant where Evans slapped a patron, and a late-2024 incident where Vanessa allegedly jumped out of his moving vehicle on 10th Avenue in Walmer and was dropped off with extensive bruising.
PE Express also added that the kidnapping charge stems from a neighbour’s testimony that van Rensburg was allegedly locked in Evans’s bakkie for 40 minutes. The attempted murder charge relates to a February 2025 incident where Evans allegedly dropped Vanessa off with cuts on her head and blood dripping down her face.
The court previously heard that the post-mortem of van Rensburg revealed 23 wounds on her body. State Prosecutor Bianca Burger revealed the murder weapon was allegedly a whisky bottle, found in a bin at Evans’s Oyster Bay residence.
Burger showed images of scratch marks on Evans’s body, arguing, “Vanessa was scratching you because she was fighting for her life,” while Evans maintained a “no comment” stance.
The post-mortem also showed Vanessa’s rib was broken and had punctured her lung, contradicting Evans’s earlier claim that her son had caused the injury. Burger laid out a timeline showing Evans left a gathering early on 19 April 2025, apparently angry, and that Vanessa died around 22:00 while security was only alerted at 01:30.
@ecexpressnews Over a year after Vanessa van Rensburg's death, murder accused Rob Evans appears at the Gqeberha High Court for his pre-trial conference 🏛️ #RobEvans #OysterBayMurder #GqeberhaNews #CourtUpdate
♬ The Court – Adrián Berenguer
PE Express previously reported that investigating officer, Warrant Officer Xolile Kato, testified that Evans had the capability to commit the assault that led to Vanessa’s death, stating, “all evidence leads to Evans being the murderer as they were the only two people in the house.” Kato described arriving at the crime scene at approximately 02:00 on 20 April 2025 and finding Vanessa’s body on the floor.
State Prosecutor Marius Stander argued Evans was on a “self-destructive mission from February to April,” engaging in multiple violent incidents before Vanessa’s death. Stander questioned how Evans could explain only one of the 23 post-mortem injuries while refusing to comment on the other 22.
He described the relationship as “sick” and said it was “a question of time before somebody gets killed,” noting even Evans’s own brother “was not shocked that Vanessa was dead.” Stander described the scene as having “blood everywhere” and argued the murder was premeditated, pointing to the three-and-a-half-hour gap between Vanessa’s death and Evans calling security.
The Gqeberha High Court denied Evans bail for a second time, with Judge Nyameko Gqamana ruling that Evans failed to prove exceptional circumstances existed that would permit his release in the interests of justice.
Evans has remained in custody since his arrest on 9 May and his trial was set for 3 to 21 November 2026.
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