Cape Town - State witness Pamela Scholtz broke down in tears when describing the grim discovery of slain 3-year-old Courtney Pieters who was found nine days after being reported missing in Elsies River.
Scholtz was testifying at the Western Cape High Court where Mortimer Saunders stands accused of raping and murdering the child before dumping her body.
Scholtz said Courtney’s body was found in Bofors Circle in the Epping Industria area after neighbourhood watches rallied a search party and split it into search teams.
Scholtz said Saunders was on her team.
She said when she saw a pair of legs under a half-dead bush, she realised it could be the body they were searching for, from the description of the child’s clothes.
Recalling the events, Scholtz broke down crying.
“I saw the child Courtney lying there. I was very emotional. I could just see the bottom half of her body, I saw her navel and her jeans was open.”
Juanita Pieters Picture: Siphephile Sibanyoni/ African News Agency (ANA)
Her testimony came after that of Courtney’s cousin, Marsha Wenn, who contradicted evidence given by the child’s mother, Juanita Pieters.
Wenn said Saunders would occasionally sleep in the room with Juanita and her family before formally occupying a room in the family home.
On Tuesday, Juanita, denied knowledge of Saunders sleeping in their room when Saunders’ lawyer questioned her about it.
Wenn said the toddler was often left alone with no proper adult supervision, saying she had already stopped looking after Courtney about four weeks before her disappearance.
Wenn, who described Courtney as a shy child who would not accept anything from strangers, said she had only formally looked after Courtney for a month, during which she was paid for babysitting duties by her uncle, Aaron Fourie - the boyfriend of Juanita and father of Courtney.
“She was often left at home unattended with no supervision. Juanita could not just assume that I would look after Courtney if they never told me that she was being left at home.”
The matter has been postponed to June 6.