Pretoria – The wife of the so-called Springs monster on Monday seemed to be in good spirits and well rested after spending a month in the Weskoppies psychiatric hospital in Pretoria West, where she was mentally assessed.
The woman, 38, who cannot be identified to protect her five children, immediately rushed over to her advocate Louisa van der Walt in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, and gave her a hearty hug.
She smilingly told her advocate that she was doing well.
She and her husband, 38, briefly appeared in court where they are facing an array of charges, ranging from the attempted murder of their then 11-year-old son, child neglect and sexual charges relating to their oldest daughter, aged 16.
Judge Eben Jordaan was told that a panel of psychiatrists at the hospital assessed the so-called Springs “house of horrors” mother, to determine whether she could be held accountable for her actions.
She is accused of neglecting her children and allowing her husband to severely abuse the two older siblings.
The mother was referred to the mental institution for 30 days' observation, after if was said that she suffered from dyslexia and had a low intellect. Criminologist Dr Pixie du Toit, who had previously assessed the mother, obtained this information from a principal at the special school the mother had attended until she was 17.
The mother’s defence was that she was also a victim of her husband’s abuse, and that her hands were tied in safeguarding her children from him.
Du Toit stated in her report that the mother was also never loved as a child, and that she was incapable of looking after her five children, nor was she able to defend them from her “abusive” husband.
Shocking details were revealed in the report, including that the mother had to dress up like a prostitute for her husband and had to watch pornographic films with him and then re-enact the scenes.
If she refused, he would cuff her to the bed and force himself on her, she said. She told du Toit that she and her children were terrified of her husband.
The alleged atrocities committed at the Plantation Road, Springs, double-storey house, only came to light in May 2014 after neighbours alerted the police that something was wrong there.
The 11-year-old boy had run to them for protection after being severely assaulted by his father.
The couple had been married for 19 years before they were arrested. The woman described the man as a “gentleman” when she met him. He was not the man he had later become.
She told Du Toit that his parents both died during a domestic violence incident in a shoot-out between them. She also feared her husband had the potential to harm her.
On Monday Judge Jordaan was told that a copy of the report issued by the three psychiatrists was not yet ready to be handed to court, as it was short of one signature. He will receive the report before the trial resumes on March 20. It is scheduled to run until March 31.
The “Springs Monster”, meanwhile ignored his estranged wife as he had done previously, sitting in a corner far from her. He appeared well groomed and appeared in good shape, after having lost a lot of weight since his arrest in 2014.