NATIONAL NEWS - A 25-year-old preschool teacher, Amber Lee Hughes, has pleaded not guilty to the rape and murder of four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita, the daughter of her romantic partner.
Southern Courier reports that the incident occurred on 23 January 2023, in Mulbarton, south of Johannesburg.
The trial commenced yesterday at the Johannesburg High Court, where Hughes faces two counts of rape and two counts of murder.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane, Hughes had allegedly developed a romantic relationship with the child’s father and moved into his home.
The relationship was reportedly troubled and marked by frequent altercations.
During a dispute, Hughes allegedly threatened to harm the child. It is claimed that when the father left the child in Hughes’s care, she allegedly raped the little girl by inserting an unknown object into her private parts.
The court also heard that Hughes allegedly drowned the child in a bathtub and cut both her wrists. The child’s lifeless body was later found floating in the bath, said Mjonondwane.
Dr Hestelle van Staden, an expert in forensic pathology, testified about her findings during the autopsy, confirming that the child’s cause of death was asphyxiation (when the body is starved of oxygen) and sexual assault.
She detailed the injuries sustained by the little girl, including facial injuries and injuries to both her front and back private parts.
The case will resume on Thursday.
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