Mom who ‘tried to hire hitman to kill man who assaulted their baby’ gets bail

A Pretoria woman accused of conspiring to murder the man who allegedly assaulted their child has been released on bail.

The 18-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the baby, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday facing a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

The mother was granted bail of R1 000 after the State did not oppose the application. The matter was previously postponed to allow police to verify her address and find out if she had previous convictions or pending cases.

She was arrested in November for allegedly attempting to hire a prisoner to take out the father of her four-month-old baby.

According to the charge sheet, on 9 November, the mother allegedly attempted to procure the services of a “gang member” in Kgosi Mampuru prison to kill the baby’s father.

Severe assault

The 28-year-old man, who also cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim known as “Baby M”, was arrested earlier in October and has been in custody in the same prison since.

It’s alleged that on 23 October, the father attacked Baby M, as well as the mother, during a domestic dispute in their Sunnyside apartment.

Following the incident, Baby M was rushed to hospital.

According to the State, Baby M was so severely assaulted that he suffered broken ribs and a broken femur. The father had since been charged with attempted murder.

A search was conducted by law enforcement and NGOs, which resulted in the father being found, allegedly hiding at the back of a petrol station in the Pretoria CBD.

The father was originally charged with assault with the intention to do grievous bodily harm, but the charge sheet had since been amended and additional charges added.

The amended charge sheet showed that he was charged with:

• Attempted murder – detailing the alleged grave assault on the baby;
• Kidnapping – the accused allegedly locked the mother in the flat;
• Assault – the accused allegedly hit the mother with a clenched fist, and
• Child abuse or deliberate neglect.

The mother and father were expected to appear in court again, separately, in the new year.

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