WATCH: Judgement looms in Mulbarton murder, rape after accused admits drowning child

The case against Amber Lee Hughes, accused of murdering and raping four-year-old Nada-Jane Therese Challita, was postponed to August 28 for judgement.

This follows Hughes’ dramatic admission in court on July 24, when she confessed to drowning Nada-Jane by sitting on her, causing the child to be submerged in water.

The incident occurred in Mulbarton on January 23, 2023.

@southern.courierThe case against Amber Lee Hughes, accused of murdering four-year-old Nada-Jane Therese Challita, has been postponed to August 28 for judgment. This follows Hughes’ dramatic admission in court on July 24, where she confessed to drowning Nada-Jane by sitting on her, causing the child to be submerged in water. The incident occurred in Mulbarton on January 23, 2023.♬ original sound – Southern Courier

During proceedings at the Johannesburg High Court on August 7, Judge Richard Mkhabela postponed the matter for judgement.

Hughes’ defence attorney, Marius Bouwer, asked the court to consider Amber’s evidence in its totality and denied both rape and that the murder was premeditated. He said the evidence was circumstantial.

@southern.courier Hughes’ defence attorney, Marius Bouwer, told the court there was testimony from Howard Hughes, who stated that someone was performing CPR on the child, and he took over because he believed it was being done incorrectly. #AmberLeeHughes ♬ original sound – Southern Courier

“The State said the accused designed and planned to kill the deceased. There is no proof for that, and time lapsed in the conversation between the accused and the father of the deceased does not equate to premeditated murder,” he said.

Judge Mkhabela insisted that the accused did not tell the court how and when she drowned the deceased.

“The court can make an inference that she drowned the child after she stopped communicating with the father because in her additional admissions she never told this court when she killed the child.

“She made the threat to kill the deceased before, and she followed through. That is premeditated. She lied under oath saying she did not kill the child; she committed perjury. This court will accept the credibility of the deceased’s father because the accused’s credibility is in tatters. She wasted the court’s time, putting the deceased’s family in this long wait. She changed her defence team, which delayed the matter. This made all the testimonies irrelevant. She pleaded not guilty,” explained Mkhabela.

Rape of Nada-Jane

According to Mkhabela, he conceded that forensic pathologist Dr Hestelle van Staden found that the injuries in Nada-Jane’s anus were chronic, meaning they happened over time. However, the vaginal injuries, where bleeding was found, confirmed that she suffered the injuries hours before she died.

“So these injuries were made by the accused as she was the only person with the child that day. Van Staden said the injuries were not more than 12 hours old,” he said.

In her closing argument, State prosecutor Rolene Barnard argued that the premeditated murder and rape allegations were valid, and that forensic evidence contradicted Amber’s denials of raping the deceased.

“Van Staden’s evidence must be taken in totality, not just a few sentences. When she talked about blood clots in the deceased’s vagina, she talked about minutes to hours. She said it is not something long like 12 hours. She said these injuries would not have happened in the early hours of the morning.

“She mentioned that the froth coming out of the deceased’s mouth was indicative that it was caused by drowning. There is no evidence about anal rape but the vaginal rape was fresh.

“For premeditated murder, the court needs to look at the state of mind of the accused prior to the commission of the crime. She made the threat: ‘I will burn your heart.’ If the court finds she said that, then the court must find her guilty of premeditated murder. There is sufficient evidence, and the court must make an inference that the threat was made. She considered killing the child before,” she said.

State confident in evidence for both charges

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state has asked the court to deliver a guilty verdict on both premeditated murder and rape charges.

@southern.courierState confident in evidence for both charges National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state has asked the court to deliver a guilty verdict on both premeditated murder and rape charges. “We pleaded with the court to return a guilty verdict and to consider the full body of evidence submitted. We believe we have sufficient evidence to prove both charges, including the charge of rape,” said Mjonondwane. She added that the defence had every opportunity to reopen its case or call additional witnesses but instead chose to submit supplementary admissions. “Now that all arguments have been heard, the matter has been set down for judgment,” she said.♬ original sound – Southern Courier

“We pleaded with the court to return a guilty verdict and to consider the full body of evidence submitted. We believe we have sufficient evidence to prove both charges, including the charge of rape,” said Mjonondwane.

She added that the defence had every opportunity to reopen its case or call additional witnesses but instead chose to submit supplementary admissions.

“Now that all arguments have been heard, the matter has been set down for judgement,” she said.

‘Their road is getting narrower’ – a grieving father speaks out

Elie Challita, father of the deceased Nada-Jane, said he was not surprised by how events unfolded in court.
“Most of what I said would happen last time happened today,” he said.

@southern.courierTheir road is getting narrower,” a grieving father speaks out Elie Challita, father of the deceased Nada-Jane, said he was not surprised by how events unfolded in court. “Most of what I said would happen last time happened today,” he said. “They’ve tried every loophole to avoid this point, but they couldn’t. Their road is getting narrower, and they’re running out of options.”♬ original sound – Southern Courier

“They have tried every loophole to avoid this point, but they could not. Their road is getting narrower, and they are running out of options.”

Asked whether the family found any closure from hearing the details in court, Nada-Jane’s heartbroken mother could not respond and left in tears.

Elie continued: “How could someone be satisfied hearing their child was raped and murdered? The bigger picture is being missed here. I am not here for the news or to debate when her heart stopped. She admitted she drowned her. That is how my daughter died.

“There is no satisfaction in that. But there is a sense of reconciliation when the truth is known because I already know it.”