Pretoria -
‘You took her life away. She no longer has a life.“ This was the statement by prosecutor Salome Scheepers to the man accused of trying to kill his girlfriend’s 2-year-old child, identified in the case as Baby L.
The child today is in a vegetative state, cared for in a place of safety, while her mother and boyfriend deny they lifted a hand against her.
The boyfriend – not being identified to protect the identity of the child – testified in the high court sitting in Pretoria, that he dearly loved the girl and she was like his own.
His version is that the Baby L fell down a flight of stairs at the couple’s Amandasig flats, on December 15 last year, two weeks before she was admitted to hospital with severe brain injuries. However, both the mother and the boyfriend, said the child was fine after the fall, apart from a few bruises. “She played, ate and was happy,” the boyfriend said. This sentiment was later echoed by the mother, when she took the stand.
The child fell off the washing machine while he tried to change her clothes, the boyfriend said. It was a hard fall, but she got up. When he asked her if she was okay, she nodded.
She later passed out and was rushed to hospital, he testified.
The couple said a doctor at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital assured them she had mild concussion and that they should just keep an eye on her.
Baby L suddenly lost consciousness three days later and violently foamed at the mouth.
This was seconds after she allegedly “cheerfully” helped her mother’s boyfriend unpack the groceries.
But doctors had a different story to tell.
When Baby L was rushed to hospital on December 30 last year, she had water on her lungs, indicating that she had inhaled fluid. Her clothes were soaking wet and she had a severe brain injury.
This, they said, was not caused by a fall from a washing machine, but by severe trauma to the head.
Her pancreas was so severely injured that she required immediate surgery to save her life.
This injury was caused by a severe blow to the stomach, caused by something like a broomstick.
She also had a fractured pelvis that was in the process of healing, apart from bruises across her body in various stages of healing.
The doctors were adamant that the blow to the pancreas was caused a day or two before the child was rushed to hospital on a Monday – thus over the weekend when both parents were home.
They also said the fluid on the lungs could indicate a near drowning of the child.
Scheepers accused her boyfriend of leaving Baby L alone at home, in a tub of water, while he went shopping.
But he was adamant that he left the girl with a “lady friend” who came to visit him while his co-accused was at work.
He point blank refused to divulge the name of the woman, even when the prosecution said she was a vital witness to vouch that he did not hurt the child shortly before she collapsed.
“Somebody did something to this child and the fingers are pointing at you. Perhaps it was your friend… she stands between you and possible jail… Why are you so adamant not to divulge her identity,” Scheepers asked.
Even Judge Nico Coetzee asked the boyfriend how this person could be located, but he remained tight-lipped.
His lawyer twice consulted him after this and eventually told the court his mandate was to close his case without calling this witness.
The mother meanwhile asked for a discharge, saying no fingers pointed at her, but the judge turned this down, saying she had a case to answer.
She had testified that she was never present when the girl was hurt.
Shown pictures of her injured child, the dry-eyed mother denied seeing most of the injuries.
The boyfriend’s father testified he believed his son was “100 percent innocent”.
When shown pictures of the injuries, he smiled and was scolded by Scheepers.
“Do you still believe your son is innocent,” she asked.
The father said yes.
Pretoria News