Accused mom to go for evaluation

A 24-year-old woman who is alleged to have killed her four children at their home in Klarinet‚ Witbank‚ will be sent for psychiatric evaluation.

Zinhle Maditla appeared in the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on Monday where her lawyer and the state prosecutor agreed to the evaluation.

She is expected to be admitted to a hospital in Ermelo and will return to court on February 14.

These developments came as Maditla’s lawyer‚ Jabulani Maphete‚ submitted that Maditla could not have been in a “right state of mind when the alleged offence was committed”.

Earlier‚ Maditla had entered the court with her face covered with a green blouse, which she only removed when the magistrate ordered her to do so.

Maditla’s children‚ aged between 11 months and eight years‚ were buried in her absence last week.

Brig Leonard Hlathi had told TimesLIVE that neither Maditla nor her family had made any application for her to be released for the funerals.

Hlathi said that had Maditla made such an application‚ several aspects‚ including her own safety‚ would have had to be considered.

The bodies of Ethan‚ Shaniqua‚ Blessing and Minenhle were found by relatives on December 30 after Maditla allegedly phoned to tell them she had left something for them at her home.

She is the main suspect in the killings.

According to police‚ the children’s corpses had already begun decomposing when they were found. All four had been wrapped in blankets.

The young mother is alleged to have poisoned them.

After the gruesome discovery‚ a drowsy Maditla had handed herself over to police and was admitted to hospital.

She was discharged earlier in January.