Slain Courtney Pieters was choked to death when she tried calling for help the day she was murdered, the Western Cape High Court heard yesterday.
The 3-year-old was forced to drink ant poison by her alleged rapist and killer, according to accused Mortimer Saunders’s plea explanation.
Sounders admitted to murdering Courtney on May 4 last year, after her mother, Juanita Pieters, left her at home with no supervision, and because he said he had “compounded ill feelings” towards Juanita.
Yesterday, after pleading guilty to a murder charge, Saunders argued that it was not premeditated and pleaded not guilty to the rape charge brought against him.
He pleaded guilty to an alternative charge to rape, saying he had performed a sexual act on a corpse.
However, the State rejected this and maintained the
murder was premeditated.
At the start of Child Protection Week yesterday, the court heard how Saunders had killed the child. On the day of Courtney’s disappearance she was left in the care of her 6-year-old brother.
On the morning of May 4, Saunders said, while using the bathroom he saw Courtney and her brother were at home. Shortly after his bathroom visit, Courtney joined him in his room to watch TV.
“She stayed for a few minutes and I told her to leave my room as I wanted to sleep. She left but returned 30 minutes later.
"Irritated for having been woken a second time and with compounded ill feelings between myself and her mother, I decided to give her ant poison,” Saunders said.
Saunders said he had mixed the poison, which was in powder form, with water and gave it to Courtney, who at first did not want the mixture but submitted to drinking it after she was told to.
“My intention was to make her sick and, in so doing, get back at her mother,” he said.
At this point, Saunders realised tenants in the house had started looking for Courtney and she attempted to respond to their calls but was unsuccessful.
Saunders said this made him panic, so he hit her with his open hand on her forehead, closed her mouth with a towel and choked her.
Before disposing of Courtney’s body, which stayed in his room for an hour as he decided on his next step, Saunders said he pulled down her denim shorts and panty before penetrating her with his fingers.
Court proceedings came to an abrupt end yesterday after Juanita Pieters broke down in the witness stand while recalling the details of the day her youngest child went missing.
The trial continues today.