Following the brutal death of a 10-month-old baby from Randfontein after allegedly being physically abused by her parents, both the parents appeared in the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Protea Magistrates’ Court in Soweto on 28 August.
The parents appeared on charges of murder and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily hard.
According to Randfontein SAPS spokesperson, paramedics received information that the child had difficulty breathing and upon arrival they found that the baby already had died.
This was on 2 March 2012.
“At the scene, the body was removed to a private mortuary and since her death was deemed unnatural, the mortuary referred the body for a post mortem,” says Ernst.
She adds that investigations into the case were intensified, which resulted in both parents being arrested.
According to The Star newspaper, when paramedics attended to the baby on 3 March last year, she was found to have multiple injuries including fractured ribs and her lungs were filled with blood.
The newspaper article states that a post mortem conducted by Doctor Jessica Clair Meddows Taylor – who testified in court – revealed that the baby was underweight with her anal opening significantly widened. It could have been due to repeated penetration.
Her statement also indicated that the abrasions around the vaginal opening could have been caused by some sort of friction.
It is also reported that during court proceedings, the couple started blaming each other for the baby’s death and subsequently were given permission to each have their own legal team when they appear in court again on 3 September.
