Cape Town - Ameerudien Peters, the man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s 18-month-old son, Jeremiah Ruiters, cut himself while in custody and wrote on the floor with his blood that his girlfriend didn't commit the murder.
Jeremiah was murdered in Factreton in 2017. The child sustained head injuries and there were stab wounds on his arms and neck. It appears he was abused over a long period of time.
Peters was charged with rape and murder, while Jeremiah’s mother, Abigail Ruiters, was charged with contravening the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, relating to childcare and parental responsibilities.
On Tuesday the Western Cape High Court heard the testimony of arresting officer Ryan Fisher, who detailed the gruesome discovery of a bleeding Peters lying on the bed in a cell with a pool of blood on the floor.
“I opened the cell and there was a lot of blood. He was lying on the bed; he was lying there it looked like he was dead. There was writing in blood on the floor. ‘It’s not Abigail’ is what I saw; there was more, but I can’t remember much of it,” he said.
Fisher told the court he found Peters right after he had processed Ruiters’ arrest.
“The ambulance arrived and (paramedics) examined him, but at the time they could not determine where the blood was coming from.
“They told us to check in the cell if there was anyone else because there was just a lot of blood,” said Fisher.
He told the court Peters was the only person in the cell. He said Peters was returned to the cell after the ambulance personnel gave him the all-clear.
Earlier, the court heard the cross examination of the initial investigating officer, Cameron Morgan.
Morgan said he got a call informing him that Peters was dead. He said he also saw the same writing in blood on the floor and even took pictures of it.
“I was in that cell for about 6 to 7 minutes with the accused lying there.
“I didn’t check for signs of life because I was told he was dead and I am also not trained to check for signs of life in a person.
“We were waiting on the ambulance to bring their machine and declare him dead,” said Morgan.
He said it was later found that Peters made a small cut, but he bled excessively due to pressure applied on the blood vessel.
Morgan also denied allegations made by Peters to his lawyer that he was moved to Maitland police station where he was handcuffed to the grill on the cell gates and instructed to remain naked for an entire night.
“No police officer would ever do that to a suspect - it’s illegal,” said Morgan.