The man known as the “Facebook Rapist” described in detail yesterday at the Cape Town High Court how he killed young model Nomfundo Tyhulu last year. He is already serving 50 years for raping and robbing two other models.

Thabo Bester was given the Facebook moniker for his modus operandi of luring women using the social network and then raping them. He has struck a plea agreement with the state for the murder of Nomfundo Tyhulu, 26, at a Cape Town guest house last year. In a statement delivered yesterday the grim details of Tyhulu’s final moments were described.

Bester described how he met Tyhulu at a Sandton BMW dealership where she was working in January 2011; Bester bought a new BMW 1 series there.

Bester stated that: “There was a mutual attraction and by March we had formed an intimate relationship with each other, despite my living in Durban and she living in Johannesburg.”

Tyhulu called him in September 2011 to say she had a new job and would be free until she started on the 28th of that month.

In consequence of this I booked a flight for her to Durban on September 16 and on the 19th we decided to fly to Cape Town where we booked into a hotel.

On September 21, they moved from the hotel to the Ocean Breeze bed and breakfast villas at Sunset Beach, where they shared a room.

In his statement, Bester says they argued about one of his former girlfriends that night and later went to sleep.

She (Tyhulu) was under the impression that I wanted a permanent relationship with her. At about 02h00, September 22, I woke up and went to the kitchen where I decided to take a knife from the kitchen.

Bester said he returned to the bedroom with the intention to take her cellphone and laptop.

However, when I returned she was also awake, saw me approaching her with the knife and we became involved in a struggle for control and possession of the knife.

They struggled and he stabbed Tyhulu in the chest with the knife.

I was aware at the time that a stab wound with the knife could cause her death, but nonetheless I continued to struggle with her in order to retain possession of the knife and ultimately stabbed her in the chest.

Straight after I stabbed her, I noticed she was bleeding profusely and lying face-down on the bed.

I then tied her hands behind her back and asked her for the password to her computer, but at that stage she did not respond.

At about 07h00, September 22, I took the deceased’s laptop and cellphone and asked the guest house owner for a lift into central Cape Town, whereafter I flew back to Durban.

Bester admitted telling the owner of the guest house that Tyhulu was still sleeping and should not be woken until after 14h00.

By 21h00 that day, the guest house owners became concerned that they had not heard from Tyhulu and decided to unlock the door to the room, which is when they discovered her bloodied body.