‘I took the gun and shot’: Married man admits killing male secret lover - IOL

Petrus Hendrik van Rooyen and his three year secret lover Jan Johannes Craemer whom he killed in 2015.

A married man convicted of murdering his secret male lover has told the Durban High Court that shame kept him silent for nearly 11 years — with his wife, who has stood by him throughout the trial, only learning this week that he was the one who pulled the trigger.

Petrus Hendrik van Rooyen was convicted in April of the premeditated murder of Jan Johannes Craemer, whom he had secretly been having an affair with for three years while both men were married to women.

Craemer was shot in the face and neck in room 1201 at the Durban Spa Hotel on November 30, 2015.

Throughout his trial, Van Rooyen maintained that he had blacked out and could not remember shooting Craemer.

But when sentencing proceedings began on Monday, he admitted for the first time that he had pulled the trigger, saying Craemer had grabbed and pushed him.

Van Rooyen said he had remained silent about the shooting because he was ashamed and embarrassed.

“I was ashamed and embarrassed. I did not discuss this with anyone,” he told the court.

His wife, who has attended court in support of him throughout the trial, only learnt the truth when he took the witness stand during the sentencing proceedings.

Acting Judge Priscilla Maharaj pressed Van Rooyen on his reluctance to plainly acknowledge that he had shot Craemer, asking why he could not bring himself to say: “I shot the deceased.”

“It was only me and the deceased in the room. It’s very difficult to accept that it was me,” Van Rooyen replied.

Under further questioning, he eventually said: “I took the gun and shot. I didn’t know where.”

Maharaj reminded him that the post-mortem examination showed Craemer had suffered two gunshot wounds. She also questioned Van Rooyen’s claim that he had been frightened of Craemer, asking why, if he was so nervous and scared of him, he would take him to a room where he knew he had left a gun.

Van Rooyen said Craemer had asked him to go to the room.

“I was scared of him and I didn’t want to upset him. I played along with him,” he said.

The judge also reminded Van Rooyen that he had previously described their meeting as relaxed, with no mention of money during their time at the restaurant before they went upstairs to the room. Van Rooyen had previously told the court that Craemer had blackmailed him for R20,000 and threatened to have his son hurt.

He said he travelled to Durban on November 18, 2015, to deliver the money, but Craemer later contacted him demanding more. According to Van Rooyen, this led to his return to Durban on the day Craemer was killed.

Van Rooyen said they appeared calm, but “you could feel the tension”.

Maharaj questioned him about what happened after the shooting and the scene he left behind. Craemer’s body was found on the hotel bed, covered, with the curtains closed.

Van Rooyen said he could not remember covering Craemer.

Asked why he never checked whether his lover was still alive, he simply replied: “I don’t know.”

He told the court that guilt and shame had eventually driven him to acknowledge that he had shot Craemer. However, he conceded that he had never told his wife.

The sentencing hearing then took an emotional turn when State advocate Vasi Chetty showed Van Rooyen a photograph of Craemer lying dead on the hotel bed.

Overcome with emotion, Van Rooyen began crying.

“I can’t do this,” he said before quickly closing the photo album after taking only a glimpse of the image.

After a short recess, Chetty returned to the issue, asking Van Rooyen what exactly he had found threatening about Craemer lying on the bed.

“Not in the way he is laying right now,” Van Rooyen replied.

Sentencing proceedings are expected to resume in December.