For the first time since her arrest, Zinhle Maditla showed emotion in court.
Maditla appeared in the High Court in Middelburg earlier today and said she deserves life imprisonment.
The young mother apologised to her family and the fathers of her children and said betrayal and heartbreak drove her to commit the murders.
Sobs could clearly be heard from her family who supported her through the whole trial.
Court had to be adjourned for a few minutes to give Maditla time to compose herself after she started crying during her questioning.
Maditla was arrested earlier this year after the bodies of her four children were found in a room she rented in Klarinet.
On September 9 Maditla said she intended to kill herself and her children after she found another woman in her boyfriend’s room.
She said she felt hurt and betrayed. On her way home she bought rat poison mixed it with some achar and put it on bread, then called my three eldest children to come and eat lunch.
She then mixed more poison with yogurt, smeared it on her breast and breastfed her youngest child who was only 11 months old.
“The children later complained of severe headaches. I covered them with blankets and went to the Spaza Shop to buy Disprin, which they did not have. When I returned, the children were not breathing. When I touched them, they felt cold.”
Arguments will be heard this afternoon.
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