THE mother of slain 3-year-old Courtney Pieters said she had forgiven her child’s alleged rapist and killer.
Juanita Pieters described Mortimer Saunders as someone who loved Courtney, but she will never forget what he did to her daughter.
Juanita testified in the Western Cape High Court yesterday where Saunders is accused of raping and murdering Courtney.
Before the defence wrapped up their questioning, Morné Calitz turned to Saunders, and after a brief discussion, Calitz turned to the court and said Saunders apologised for what he had done.
Pieters, visibly emotional, said: “I have forgiven Mortimer but I will never forget what he did.”
State prosecutor Esmeralda Cecil asked Pieters how the incident of having her baby daughter disappear, and being found murdered, affected her.
“I feel very hurt. I accept responsibility for having left my children home alone that morning,” said Pieters.
After she was shown CCTV footage of Saunders dumping the body of her daughter in Bofors Circle on May 4, she had lied to the investigating officer.
“I lied to Captain Taylor saying I did not know this man. I was shocked and did not want to believe it was (Saunders); we never expected that of him,” she said.
Pieters described Saunders as a “quiet and decent person who loved children and he loved Courtney”.
Asked about her relationship with Saunders, Pieters said it wasn’t favourable and they would regularly argue when Saunders “created trouble” between her and her boyfriend, Aaron Fourie, when he was drunk, accusing Pieters of not feeding and clothing her children.
Pieters said this led to Fourie verbally abusing and assaulting her.
Courtney’s cousin, Marsha Wenn, who lives in a wendy house in the backyard of the Pluto Street home from where Courtney went missing, was called to the witness stand.
Informing the court of the day Courtney went missing, Wenn said they had looked for Courtney just after 10am and assumed she was with Wenn’s sister, who lives two streets away, when they could not find her.
Saunders was home while Wenn continued her house chores and just after hanging laundry, her baby son started crying in his walking ring.
“Saunders came out of his room and soothed my baby and asked him, ‘why you being so naughty today?’,” said Wenn.