Durban - The mother of baby Jamie has been charged with murder. The 31-year-old mother and the maternal grandmother of the little Chatsworth girl - who died from abuse, allegedly at the hands of relatives - were brought to the Durban High Court on Monday and served with an amended indictment.
This follows the outcome of a private psychiatric assessment of the mother.
The 51-year-old grandmother and the girl’s mother were previously indicted to stand trial in the high court last year, but it was only the grandmother who faced a charge of murder.
On Monday, State advocate, Cheryl Naidu, told the court the indictment had since been amended to include the charge of murder against the girl’s mother.
Both women had undergone State psychiatric assessment, which found them mentally fit to stand trial.
However, the girl’s mother requested a private assessment which, the court recently heard, came to the same conclusion.
The women cannot be named until they have pleaded because, in addition to the murder charges, they face charges of child abuse, assault and sexual assault against the little girl’s two older siblings.
The grandmother also stands accused of sexually assaulting and raping three-year-old Jamie, who died on November 19, 2014, from blunt head trauma after fatal child abuse.
The Chatsworth community were horrified at the details of the alleged abuse the little girl was subjected to. On the anniversary of her death, they laid flowers and teddy bears in front of the house she had lived in with her mother, grandmother and two siblings.
According to the amended indictment, all three children, born in 2004, 2007 and 2011 respectively, were placed in the grandmother’s foster care by the Children’s Court.
The children’s mother, because of a drug problem, lack of accommodation and finances, had applied to put the two older children up for adoption in 2007 before the children were legally placed in the grandmother’s foster care. The mother later also came to live in the same home.
It is alleged the mother would take the children begging in and around Durban and slept at shelters with them, with the grandmother’s knowledge and consent.
The amended indictment includes gruesome details of abuse. It is alleged all three children were assaulted by the women by being burnt with cigarettes or hit on their private parts. It is also alleged none of the children were taken for medical treatment after these alleged incidents. The children were said to have been hit with rulers and wooden spoons. The little girl was said to be deprived of food, with her siblings told not to share their food with her.
It is also alleged the child’s legs and hands were bound and she was then tied to the bed at night with string.
Days before her death, it is alleged her mother and grandmother slapped and throttled her before she was thrown to the ground; struck repeatedly on her head, face and body with shoes; pinched and burned on her privates with cigarettes; and bound and tied to the bed.
On the night of her death, it is alleged a plastic packet was placed over her head and tied at her neck while she was tied to the bed.
The State alleges the women acted in common purpose.
The mother was represented by a private attorney, Ajith Severaj, while the grandmother was represented by Legal Aid attorney, Theyagaraj Pillay.
Their trial is set to begin on July 25 in the Durban High Court.
Daily News