Cape Town motor mechanic Alan Gietzmann was on Tuesday found guilty of the premeditated murder of his teenaged girlfriend Caryn Lindesay.
He was also convicted on five counts of incitement to rape or murder her.
Gietzmann was alleged to have bludgeoned Lindesay to death with a claw hammer two years ago after she ended their relationship.
The incitement charges related to his offering money to five different homeless people to rape and murder her.
All refused the offer, but testified about it in court.
Cape High Court Judge Denis van Reenen said in his judgement that he accepted the evidence of the vagrants and rejected the contention of defence attorney William Booth that they were all in a conspiracy to incriminate Gietzmann.
Gietzmann had claimed to have found Lindesay lying unconscious in a pool of blood in the lounge of her parental home at the Villa Capri complex in Parow.
He told the court that he once wrote six love letters to her in a single day in a bid to save their troubled relationship.
Immediately after the verdict, prosecutor Anthony Stephen demanded that Gietzmann — who has been out on bail — remain in custody and reminded the court that bail lapses the moment an accused person is convicted.
Rejecting a suggestion by Booth that he be placed under house arrest at night until the case resumes on Thursday, Stephen said Gietzmann now poses a substantial flight risk.
Van Reenen said Gietzmann faces a ”very, very severe” penalty unless there are substantial and compelling circumstances that justify a less severe sentence.
Ordering that Gietzmann remain in custody, the judge said the flight risk now overshadows all other considerations.
Lindesay’s mother Susan Siewertsen burst into tears as the court adjourned briefly after the murder conviction was finally pronounced.
Gietzmann seemed shocked, both by the judgement and especially by Stephen’s demand that he be taken into custody.
The hearing continues on Thursday when evidence in mitigation will be placed before the court. — Sapa