Cape Town - The woman accused of kidnapping baby Zephany Nurse is expected to plead on Tuesday.
This after the case was postponed at the Western Cape High Court on Monday, to allow the State and the defence to finalise admissions on undisputed facts.
The 51-year-old made a brief appearance of no more than 10 minutes before Judge President Yahya Hlope.
Dressed casually in a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved top, with her sunglasses perched on top of her head, the accused looked calm and confident.
She stood silently during the short proceedings and kept her head bowed as friends and relatives of Zephany looked down at her from a packed public gallery.
On Tuesday the accused is expected to plead after State prosecutor, Evadne Kortjie, formally charges her with kidnapping, fraud and contravening the Children’s Act.
“We are finalising a long list of admissions, but we are not finished as yet,” Kortjie told the court on Monday.
The State alleges that the accused nabbed three-day-old Zephany at Groote Schuur Hospital on April 30, 1997, after befriending her mother Celeste Nurse and convincing her to rest.
She allegedly falsely registered Zephany as her own daughter six years later in Malmesbury.
The accused has denied kidnapping the child and claims the baby was given to her by someone.
She claims she was nowhere near the hospital on the fateful day.
Kortjie said the State plans to call a total of seven witnesses, while the defence said they would call only two, including the accused.
Tension ran high in court as a nervous-looking Celeste arrived clutching the hand of her fiancé, Justin Smit, with her mother Marilyn Francis in tow.
Monday was the first time the couple arrived at court together.
They did not stop to speak to the horde of journalists and photographers outside.
The couple greeted granny Zephra Nurse before taking a seat on the side reserved for Celeste’s family in court.
Zephany’s father, Mornè Nurse, arrived alone to find a large number of friends and relatives inside.
Morné did not want to comment, but indicated he would make a statement on Tuesday.
Daily Voice