Courtney Pieters hearing postponed

THE pre-trial hearing for murder and rape accused Mortimer Saunders has been postponed until December 8 due to the State still waiting for surveillance footage.

Saunders, accused of murdering and raping threeyear-old Courtney Pieters, appeared briefly for his first appearance at the Western Cape High Court on Friday.

State prosecutor Esmerelda Cecil said they were waiting for surveillance footage before the pre-trial could start.

Courtney’s ailing mother Juanita Pieters was not present in court on Friday, but the toddler’s father, Aaron Fourie, and her older sister attended court with many supporters.

Courtney went missing from her Pluto Street home in Salberau on May 4, and her body was discovered on a dirt heap in Bofors Circle, Epping Industria, after a nine-day search.

Previously, Epping City Improvement District manager Lizette Johnstone said due to security guards monitoring 40 security cameras in the improvement district, they may have missed the toddler’s body being dumped.

The shallow grave where the missing girl’s body was found is situated close to one of the overhead CCTV cameras.

Johnstone confirmed police retrieved the CCTV footage as part of their investigation.

Johnstone said she could not confirm when the body was dumped in the field.

She said police would not confirm to the company if the suspect was identified in the footage shared by ECID.

Courtney went missing after being left in the care of her 6-year-old brother as their mother set off for work.

When she returned, she heard her daughter had gone missing.

The family home was cordoned off as a crime scene the day after her body was found.

Saunders, a childhood friend of Fourie’s, was a tenant at the family’s home for about three years.

He was taken into custody after the K9 Unit conducted a search of the house.

It was reported traces of blood were found in his room.

Saunders remains in custody in Pollsmoor Prison.