Johannesburg - The State prosecutor in the Baby Christina* abuse trial has been replaced by a high court advocate after key evidence went missing from the police docket.
Meanwhile, one of the accused had to be taken out of the courtroom by ambulance personnel on Wednesday after she started howling in pain during proceedings.
Christina’s parents, June* and Theuns*, who cannot be identified to protect the child’s identity, are on trial for allegedly trying to shake the life out of their baby Christina, hanging her out of a window of their apartment, suffocating her with a pillow and almost drowning her in a bath of water.
The alleged abuse in 2013 resulted in broken legs, ribs and a fracture to the baby’s skull, leaving her with vision problems (septo-optic dysplasia) from which she might never recover.
On Wednesday, the case returned to the Germiston Magistrate’s Court, where it was revealed that the previous prosecutor, Vuyelwa Jack, had been replaced by advocate Nerisha Naidoo, who is a more experienced lawyer.
This comes after The Star reported last month how police investigators and the prosecution were under fire for losing evidence and failing to serve subpoenas on witnesses.
At the previous appearance last month, it was revealed that the investigating officer had taken a leave of absence, and according to Jack, the door to his office had to be broken down to retrieve the docket for the new investigating officer.
Meanwhile, X-rays showing Baby Christina’s injuries requested by the lawyer representing June, Nardus Grové, had also allegedly gone missing from the docket.
On Thursday, after Naidoo had taken over the case, it appeared the trial was able to continue and the evidence issues were resolved. The advocate applied to the presiding magistrate to convert the assault charges against Christina’s parents to attempted murder, but was unsuccessful in her application.
However, around 2pm, after the cross-examination of a social worker who attended to Baby Christina after the alleged abuse, June began screaming in pain, causing proceedings to come to a screeching halt.
While it’s understood that the mother has chronic health issues, on Thursday they apparently became too much to bear, as an ambulance had to be called.
The trial was adjourned until December 7.
Christina, now two years old, is currently in the care of her grandparents.
*Not their real names
The Star