Caregiver jailed for 22 years for killing boy, 3

Fortuin lost her temper after the child soiled himself. She claimed it happened fairly frequently in the past

A ROBERTSON resident has been sentenced to 22 years direct imprisonment after being convicted of the murder of a 3-year-old boy.

Maria Fortuin, 22, entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State after she assaulted Matthew Smith to death.

The child was placed in the care of Fortuin’s mother by Child Care South Africa. She was away on the day of the incident, making Fortuin the child’s primary caregiver.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “She (Fortuin) says she lost her temper after the victim soiled himself. She claimed she lost her temper as it happened fairly frequently in the past that the victim did not go to the toilet on time and then soiled himself.”

Fortuin assaulted the boy by hitting him on his body with her open hand, and after he fell, she continued hitting him on his body and head with her open hand, her fists, and by kicking him.

“(Fortuin) cannot say how many times she hit and kicked the victim, but admits the cause of death is blunt force trauma to the abdomen of the victim, as described in the post mortem report. Following the assault (Matthew) began speaking incoherently. The accused tried to get a lift with a neighbour to take the boy to the clinic but couldn’t find his clinic card. She later pushed the injured boy in his pram to the clinic where the boy later passed away,” Ntabazalila said.

Advocate Esmeralda Cecil, who finalised the agreement, told the court that there was a relationship of trust, since Matthew was placed in the care of Fortuin’s mother, and indirectly in the care of herself (Fortuin).

“The victim was a defenceless child. The degree of violence was very severe. The vicitm could not defend himself against the accused’s senseless assault. She was aware that by assaulting the boy in the way described she may cause his death.

“She however reconciled herself with this possibility and continued with her actions. Accordingly, she admits her intention to cause the victim’s death in the form of dolus eventualis,” Cecil said.

The court declared Fortuin unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that her name be entered into the National Child Protection Register.