Poppie’s stepdad attempts suicide

DRAMA broke out yesterday morning, minutes before the stepfather of Poppie van der Merwe, Kobus Koekemoer, and his wife Louisa, who have both been convicted of the child’s murder, had to appear in court, when Kobus apparently attempted to commit suicide.

Kobus and Louisa were waiting in the holding cells to be called up to the courtroom for their case to be postponed to April 18, when he collapsed in the cells.

According to sources he was drinking from a bottle containing a foul smelling, dark liquid. The bottle was already half empty by then and it is believed that he started drinking the liquid while en route to court earlier.

Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Bert Bam was told about the situation and the case was stood down as an ambulance was on its way to attend to Kobus.

This is his second suicide attempt as he shortly after his arrest and around the time of his bail application, tried to slit his wrists.

Louisa, who was held in another cell yesterday, close to that of Kobus, apparently did not know about the apparent suicide attempt. When she was told she apparently remarked that it was not the first time he had done this.

Judge Bam was yesterday due to simply postpone the case to April 18, as the advocate appearing for Kobus is not available due to illness.

They were both convicted in December in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria of Poppie’s murder.

The three-year-old Poppie was declared dead on October 25 last year when she arrived at a provincial hospital in Brits. This was a few weeks after the couple moved from Orania, which is about 150km from Kimberley, to Brits.

The pair will now submit arguments to court in April and possibly call witnesses to testify in mitigation of sentence.

The couple had turned on each other during the trial, each blaming the other for the fatal blow to the head.

But Judge Bam made it clear: It did not matter who did what. The fact remained that either one witnessed the other injuring the child and did nothing to prevent the other from hurting her.

“Both were present when the final blow was inflicted and each of the two knew what was going on.”

Apart from this, Poppie had been severely abused over months and Judge Bam said that the nature of the injuries inflicted on the child over this time and the fact that each accused knew exactly what the other was doing, left the court in no doubt that they knew she could possibly die in the end.

There was no doubt that Poppie had suffered tremendously over a long period. Bruises were noted on her body by the authorities in Orania, where the family lived until shortly before her death. SUICIDE BID: Kobus Koekemoer, Poppie’s (inset) stepfather tried to kill himself yesterday.

Judge Bam, at the time of the judgment, was also so outraged by the failure of anyone in Orania to act against the clear child abuse, that he remarked it can be argued that they were accessories.

Judge Bam said that it was clear that the authorities – from the local minister in Orania, the doctor and nurse who examined Poppie, social services to her teachers – had failed her.

The police were only called in once Poppie’s lifeless body was brought to the Brits hospital.