A 47-year-old woman was sentenced to 18 years direct imprisonment by the KwaDukuza Regional Court for the murder of her four-year-old daughter.
This comes after the woman pleaded guilty (Section 112) to the murder of her child in April 2022, in the Ballito area.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said in her plea, the accused said she lived with her husband who was a hospital administrator.
Ramkisson-Kara said the man’s four-year-old and his wife accompanied him on his work trips to various countries.
The woman stated that at some point her husband terminated his contract but was still expected to travel out of the country, but less frequently.
“During this time, she became severely depressed and wanted to take her own life,” said Ramkisson-Kara, adding that the reason for her depression was that she missed her son from a previous marriage who lived with his father and she was sad that her husband was away.
According to Ramkisson-Kara, the woman mentioned that she had suffered from depression for many years, which started with the postpartum depression she experienced when her first child was born.
“She said that on the morning of the offence, 26 April 2022, she was alone with the girl, as her husband was away. After breakfast, while the girl watched TV, the woman planned to take her own life by drinking benzene together with sleeping tablets.
“She said that she felt she could not leave the girl behind with no one to take care of her. So she fetched two buckets, filled them with water, tied the girl's hands and drowned her in the buckets of water.”
The NPA said the woman intended to kill the girl and knew that what she was doing at the time was unlawful.
“After killing the girl, she took several sleeping tablets and drank the benzene. When she woke up later in the day, she phoned the landlord and her husband and told them that she had killed her child. The woman was subsequently arrested.”
In aggravation of sentence, Prosecutor Paul Nel, handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the girl’s father.
“In his statement, the man said that his daughter was killed in a cold-hearted manner. He said that he is emotionally drained as he is very close to his daughter. He misses cooking her favourite meals for her and spending time with her.”
Ramkisson-Kara said the woman was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and she was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the finalisation of this matter. It is our mandate to pursue justice on behalf of the victims of crime.”
The Mercury