Pretoria - A mother accused of murdering her baby boy did not show up for her trial on Monday as she was “fearful” of the court, her husband (who is her co-accused) and the “paparazzi who are on her case”.
She also received death threats and things simply became too much for her, Juanita Oldewage, 28, (who now uses her maiden surname, Fourie) told Pretoria High Court Judge Lettie Molopa.
The judge issued a warrant on Monday for Fourie’s arrest, but held it over to on Monday provided she appeared in court to explain herself.
The former blonde, now a redhead, was due to go on trial this week with her husband, Christiaan Oldewage, for the murder of little Christiaan.
He died in December 2011, three weeks after birth and soon after he was admitted to hospital with a fractured skull and broken ribs.
The State claimed the couple had beaten the child to death or allowed him to be beaten to death. The cause of death was “multiple injuries”.
The couple have not pleaded to the charges, but Fourie said on Wednesday that she was “working hard” on gathering information from experts in California and Canada, which she believed would prove her innocence.
“What I have discovered so far is huge,” she told the court, without elaborating on her findings.
Her lawyer told the court on Monday she had had a nervous breakdown and she needed time to gather herself. A letter from a psychologist was handed to the court, saying she suffered from “major anxiety” and depression. It was also said she would “hopefully” be ready to face court on Wednesday. The State did not accept this explanation and pointed out that the trial was only set down for a week and that tomorrow was the last day of the proposed trial.
Prosecutor Cornelia Harmzen said on Wednesday that the State intended to refer Fourie to Weskoppies Hospital for psychiatric observation, as it seemed (on her own version) she had a mental problem.
Harmzen said she would ask that Fourie be kept in custody until a bed was available at Weskoppies.
“The report (from Fourie’s psychiatrist) said she suffered from major anxiety… This is a basis for the State to send her for observation. She created her own grounds for a referral,” she told the judge.
Her lawyer, Carlo Viljoen, objected and said he was to blame for the fact that she did not arrive on Monday as she was simply following his advice and that of the psychiatrist.
“She should not be blamed. I admit I was wrong (in advising her to be absent) and I am willing to pay the consequences,” he said.
The judge said it seemed to be a tactic used by the defence to ensure the matter did not go ahead. She did not mince her words in voicing displeasure towards the lawyer and said as an officer of the court he should know only the court could excuse an accused from her trial.
On taking the stand, Fourie explained she was “just not up to facing the court”.
She denied she was trying to evade her trial and said she was working hard towards preparing her defence.
“I know I did nothing wrong. I don’t want to go to jail. I am serious about defending myself. I am a mother and I lost my child. I am trying to be strong.”
According to Fourie she moved to Port Edward as she could no longer bear to be in Pretoria.
“I had death threats and I moved to get away from everything. I am scared and it is not nice to come here, where I am judged by everyone and hunted by the paparazzi.”
She at first said her husband, from whom she is being divorced, threatened her. She later said he did not directly threaten her, but there was once a “hit” out on her. Fourie said a “gas canister” was thrown into the face of her godmother, with whom she lived, but it was meant for her.
There were also other attacks and threats, Fourie said, but she did not report those to the police as private eye Mike Bolhuis promised to investigate them.
There was nothing mentally wrong with her. She went to the psychiatrist as she could not stop crying and feared facing the court.
The judge gave her the benefit of the doubt and extended her bail without referring her to Weskoppies.
The case was postponed to December 2.
Pretoria News
* If you use Gmail to read IOL's newsletters, note that Google is rolling out a new tabbed inbox that filters your mail into 5 separate tabs - Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums. IOL emails will probably be sent to the “Promotions” tab instead of the “Primary” tab. If you don't want it that way, drag the newsletter from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab. An alert will pop up. Click “yes” and your newsletters will continue to go to your Primary inbox.