#CourtneyPieters mother 'unhappy and broken'

Juanita Pieters with her son, Adrian. Picture: Phando Jikelo

Juanita Pieters with her son, Adrian. Picture: Phando Jikelo

Published May 27, 2017

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Cape Town - Juanita Pieters is living every mother’s nightmare.

In the last week, she’s had to bury her three-year-old daughter Courtney, attend the court case of the man accused of her murder, as well as quash rumours that she was involved in her child’s death.

“They (the community) are just dishing out blame left and right and accusing me of being involved," said Pieters during a visit to her Elsies River home this week.

"They can’t blame me. Why would I plan with another man to murder my daughter?

“There’s also rumours that Mortimer (Saunders, who is accused of killing Courtney), and I had a relationship. But the truth is, he and I didn’t even like each other.”

Saunders, 40, has appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder and rape.

Pieters’s ordeal began on May 4, the day that Courtney went missing. “The morning she disappeared, when I left for work, Courtney asked me: ‘Will Mommy bring us party packets? For me and (her brother) Adrian?’ And I said yes, Mommy will bring," she said.

"Late that evening, I gave Adrian his party packet and I told him I will keep Courtney’s until she comes home. Because I kept hoping and believing my child would return alive.”

But, nine days later, Courtney’s body was found buried in a grave near Bofors Circle, Epping, just a kilometre away from home.

The police investigation has been fraught with allegations of bungling.

Last week, during a visit to the Pieters home, President Jacob Zuma also condemned law enforcement’s efforts.

Deputy chairperson of the Elsies River Community Policing Forum, Imraahn Mukaddam, resigned after Courtney’s body was found, citing police negligence for his decision.

Pieters is also disappointed with the law, especially with a reported failure to search Saunders's lodgings. He had been living with the Pieters family for two years before his arrest.

“If the police had brought in the (sniffer) dogs from day one, then Courtney would have been found. Because everyone who came to the house insisted Mortimer’s room be checked, because there was a smell coming from it. People insisted, but the police just wouldn’t come with the dogs,” she said.

Police had to escort Courtney's mother and father, Aaron Fourie, out of court during Saunders’s appearance, after protesters threatened to attack them.

Pieters was later confronted by angry residents outside her home. She says they demanded that she thank them for helping to find Courtney, and believes they wanted to attack her.

“I am disappointed. I am unhappy and broken that I must be blamed for my child’s death. They are saying I was involved, that I knew about everything. I am being accused of many things. But the truth is no one knows what exactly happened inside this house. Even the rest of the people living inside the house do not know what actually happened.”

Pieters and Fourie have questions for Saunders. “(But) when will we be able to get those answers? Just like those who are accusing me of being involved in Courtney’s death are in the dark, Courtney’s dad and I are also in the dark," Pieters said. "I will feel so much better if the community could just leave me in peace.”

She has appealed to the community to allow justice to prevail, and has also denied speculation that Courtney told her about “itchy” or “sore” private parts.

“Courtney never complained to me about anything. She never said any body parts were hurting or anything like that. She never complained her cookie (vagina) was sore,” Pieters said.

Regarding Saunders’s behaviour during the search for Courtney, Pieters said he didn’t appear to be act

differently.

“I can’t think that anything could have been wrong with Mortimer. Because his reaction around the home was pretty normal. I am shocked," she said.

"Residents in the area, people who knew him, his friends, no one can believe it is him.”

Overwhelmed and exhausted, Pieters added: “I am not sleeping properly. Every day someone visits the house, and every day I have to repeat the same story.

Courtney Pieters, 3, who was murdered and buried near her home in Elsies River. Picture: Supplied

“We really miss Courtney. I cry every morning. I cry every evening before I go to sleep, because she laid in my arms every night. When I wake up in the middle of the night, then I cannot sleep again. I lay awake and think about her all the time.”

She says that Courtney’s death hasn’t sunk in for her son Adrian, 6. "The other day he asked: ‘Mommy, when are we going to fetch Courtney?’ So I told him, ‘Courtney is not coming back, she is with Jesus.’ Then he asked me if Courtney is going to stay there. I said yes," Pieters said.

“I’ll never recover from the loss of Courtney. It feels like I have lost a part of myself. I miss her every hour and every moment in this house."

Meanwhile, Saunders remains in custody and his case was postponed to August 24.

Weekend Argus

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