Zephany accused blasted for lies
Today is judgment day for alleged kidnapper
WESTERN CAPE Judge President John Hlophe was unforgiving in his criticism of the version of events presented to the Western Cape High Court by the Lavender Hill woman accused of kidnapping Zephany Nurse on April 30, 1997.
“The child was kidnapped and found in her possession without reasonable explanation. I had to sit here and listen to her lies for days,” Judge Hlophe told defence attorney Reaz Khan during his closing arguments yesterday.
Judge Hlophe is expected to deliver judgment today.
The woman, whose identity is being withheld to protect Zephany, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, fraud and contravening sections of the Children’s Act.
Judge Hlophe said the soft-spoken seamstress’s explanation that she had received Zephany during an impromptu adoption at Wynberg train station on the same day the child was snatched from a maternity ward at Groote Schuur Hospital, was not credible.
He said no one would believe a woman, only known as Sylvia, conveniently gave her a new-born baby close to the time that the woman would have given birth in 1997.
The woman had a miscarriage five months prior to receiving Zephany and admitted to the court on Tuesday that she lied to her family about still being pregnant.
“She bought the baby for R3 000, that story makes absolutely no sense, who can believe that?” Judge Hlophe asked.
The judge asked why the woman had not revealed to the Hawks when she was questioned in February last year, that the child was adopted, instead, she maintained that Zephany was her biological daughter.
“The evidence is overwhelming. It is pointing to one direction,” Judge Hlophe said while pointing directly at the accused seated in the dock.
“The State called nine witnesses, can you state that any one of them were lying?” Judge Hlophe asked Khan.
The court remained silent as the question was asked.
Judge Hlophe said the woman’s hus- band’s testimony on Tuesday made matters worse.
“Here is a man that still believed she (the woman) was pregnant five months after she miscarried.
“The evidence points to that woman stealing the baby all those years ago,” Judge Hlophe remarked
Khan argued that the court did not have to believe his client’s version of events, instead, the court only had to find if the woman’s version was “reasonably possibly true”.
Judge Hlophe was convinced that the woman lied about the adoption.
He was adamant that she was the same person described by several witnesses, including Zephany’s biological mother, Celeste Nurse, as the person who took the child 19 years ago while dressed as a nurse.
Judge Hlophe said a key State witness, Shireen Piet, who positively identified the woman as the same individual who tried to snatch her baby hours before Zephany disappeared in 1997, was an “incredible witness”.
“Mrs Piet had the time to observe the accused when she visited her on April 29 and 30, 1997, her evidence was remarkable.”
Judge Hlophe said the fact that Piet had described the woman in 1997 to a police sketch artist and positively identified her as the same person lurking around Groote Schuur Hospital when Zephany disappeared, made her a strong witness in the State’s case.
Piet also identified the woman in an identity parade at the Bellville police station in February last year and corroborated the evidence presented to the court by the State’s other witnesses.
Prosecutor Evadne Kortje said because the child was found in the woman’s possession, and, because she did not go to the police when she received the baby, the woman was already guilty of kidnapping and contravening sections of the Children’s Act. “She had to find a baby in April 1997, as it had to coincide with her lies told to her family, that she was carrying her own child to full term.”
Kortje said the woman was not the child’s biological mother and failed to reveal, at any point during subsequent years, that she was not the child’s birth mother and in that way contravened sections of the Children’s Act.
She said the woman was an unreli- able witness because she admitted in court that she had lied to her family and lied to Hawks investigating officers when confronted with the truth in February last year.
Zephany was reunited with her family last year after a lengthy Hawks investigation initiated by her biological father Morné Nurse.
He was prompted by his younger daughter to meet Zephany after friends noticed how remarkably similar they looked. After collecting evidence, including DNA, the Hawks arrested the woman at her Lavender Hill home in February last year.