Francesca Villette
SHE was unexpectedly handed a baby by a woman she had never met – and decided to keep the infant.
This was the testimony in the Western Cape High Court yesterday of the woman accused of snatching Zephany Nurse from hospital nearly two decades ago.
The accused (who may not be named to protect Zephany’s identity) testified she arrived at Wynberg station on April 30, 1997, to pay the last instalment of a R3 000 fertility treatment deal to a woman named Sylvia whom she had met the previous year.
After she did not fall pregnant, the accused said Sylvia asked how she felt about adoption.
They were supposed to meet and the accused would pay Sylvia the outstanding balance and discuss the possibility of adoption.
”I was approached by an un-known female who asked me if I was waiting for Sylvia. She showed me a baby wrapped in a blanket. She informed me the baby was from Sylvia. I was taken by surprise,” the accused said in her plea explanation.
She is on trial for allegedly kidnapping Zephany from Groote Schuur Hospital.
Nurse’s biological mother Celeste Nurse gave birth to her on April 27, 1997.
High Court Judge President John Hlophe asked the accused if she ever attempted to find Zephany’s real parents.
“I tried but didn’t know anything about where she came from,” the accused said.
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