Ballito woman gets 18 years for drowning her toddler

A woman in Ballito received 18 years direct of imprisonment after pleading guilty to murdering her four-year-old daughter.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson for KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, explained that the 47-year-old woman pleaded guilty at the KwaDukuza Regional Court to the murder that took place in April 2022.

In her plea, the woman highlighted her depression and intent to commit suicide.

Drowned in buckets of water

“She said that she lived with her husband, who was a hospital administrator travelling to various countries in Africa, and the girl who was their child. The woman said that they accompanied her husband on his travels,” Ramkisson-Kara explained.

“She said that at some point her husband terminated his contract but was still expected to travel out of the country [alone], but less frequently.

“During this time, she became severely depressed and wanted to take her own life. She said that the reason for her depression was that she missed her son from a previous marriage who lived with his father, and she said that she was sad about her husband being away.

“She mentioned that she had suffered from depression for many years, which started with postpartum depression.”

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The woman said that on 26 April 2022 she was alone with the girl as her husband was away. After breakfast, while the girl watched TV, the woman planned to take her own life by drinking benzene together with sleeping tablets.

She said that she felt she could not leave the girl behind with no one to take care of her. So she fetched two buckets, filled them with water, tied the girl’s hands and drowned her in them.

The woman said that she intended to kill the girl and knew that what she was doing at the time was unlawful.

After killing the girl, she took several sleeping tablets and drank the benzene. When she woke up later in the day, she phoned the landlord and her husband and told them that she had killed her child. The woman was subsequently arrested.

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Father calls it cold-hearted

In aggravation of the sentence, Prosecutor Paul Nel handed in a victim impact statement compiled by the girl’s father.

In his statement, the man said that his daughter was killed in a cold-hearted manner.

He said that he was emotionally drained as he was very close to his daughter. He misses cooking her favourite meals for her and spending time with her.

The woman was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment, and she was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the finalisation of this matter. It is our mandate to pursue justice on behalf of the victims of crime,” Ramkisson-Kara added.