Cape Town - Questioning on the serious
injuries sustained by murdered 2-year-old Jeremiah Ruiters and the denial of involvement by accused Ameerudien Peters was too much to bear for the toddler’s grandmother.
Shortly after State prosecutor Maria Marshall told Peters that according to a pathologist’s testimony, Jeremiah’s mouth injury had been inflicted with an object such as a bottle, Pamela Timm, 66, left Court 5 in tears.
The prosecution has been questioning murder accused Peters on claims that he looked after Jeremiah well, presenting evidence that contradicted his claims.
Previously Marshall presented pictures from the post-mortem report in the Western Cape High Court to the accused, which clearly showed that 18-month-old Jeremiah was in a filthy state on the day of his death.
Outside the courtroom, Timm said: “How could he said that he doesn’t know how and who injured Jeremiah if the child was in his care. I don’t understand why my grandson was so brutally murdered. It is just too hard for me to sit in court and listen to (testimony on) all the injuries to his tiny body.”
Jeremiah died on June 12, 2017 as a result of blunt force trauma to his spine, a cracked skull, broken ribs, a broken nose and bite marks. Fourteen of his bones were fractured.
Peters and Abigail Ruiters, Jeremiah’s mother, face a charge of murder, while Ruiters is also charged with abuse and neglect of the toddler. The matter resumes today in the Western Cape High Court.