Videos: Contradictions emerge in bail hearing of murdered Jayden-Lee’s mother
Bail hearing highlights conflicting accounts of Jayden-Lee’s clothing and missing occurrence book entries as his mother remains in custody.
Conflicting accounts of clothing and missing occurrence book (OB) entries came under scrutiny today during the bail application hearing of Tiffany Nicole Meek (31) in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court.
According to the Roodepoort Record, Meek’s defence attorney, Noven Naidoo, cross-examined state witness and investigating officer Sergeant Nceba Diko about the clothing Jayden-Lee Meek (11) was reportedly wearing on the day he went missing.
Naidoo highlighted that the teacher, the day shift security guard at Swazi’s Place, and Meek herself all gave differing statements about Jayden-Lee’s clothing.
“My client informed me she helped him get dressed that morning. He was wearing grey long pants, a white shirt, a tie, and black takkies,” Naidoo told the court.
A statement from Jayden-Lee’s teacher at Royal College indicated he was wearing a red school tracksuit with a school badge and carrying his school bag.
The day shift security guard reported seeing Jayden in a red school jacket with a badge and black shorts.
Diko said he could not confirm what the child was wearing, as the descriptions were provided by individuals who had seen Jayden-Lee that day.
OB entries from Swazi’s Place were also submitted to court.
@caxton.jhbwest The investigating officer, Sgt Nceba Diko, checks Jayden-Lee’s schoolbag for a book with written work from May 13. #CaxonLocalMedia #Fyp #Journalist #RoodepoortRecord #JaydenLeeMeek #fleurhof #courtappearance #roodepoort #Murdersuspect #JusticeforJayden #JusticeForJaydenLee #truecrime #truecrimesouthafrica #truecrimesa
The entries showed that the first report of Jayden’s disappearance was made to the night shift security guard at 20:30 by unknown individuals. Meek reported the matter at 21:00, accompanied by police.
Naidoo stated: “The accused will say she spoke to the day shift security guard and that an entry was made in the OB. She gave him her phone number, told him she was going to the shop, and instructed him to call if Jayden returned.”
Diko responded: “There is no record of this in the OB.”
Naidoo also questioned the officer about an alleged missing page from the OB, claiming that on May 14 – the day Jayden-Lee’s body was discovered – Meek and her family noticed the page was missing when they attempted to photograph the book.
Diko admitted he had not certified the OB copies submitted to court, citing workload as the reason for the oversight.
The defence presented a Bolt receipt showing Meek travelled to Swazi’s Place at 05:12, not 04:00 as stated by Diko. Naidoo said this detail had been deliberately omitted from Meek’s affidavit to illustrate that she did not travel there at 04:00, as alleged. This timing further contradicted the OB entry provided by the security guard.
Further questioning focused on the nationality of the security guards. Naidoo asked whether Diko had checked their immigration status.
“They are both Congolese nationals, and I did not check their status,” Diko said.
@caxton.jhbwest Cross-examination between the defence attorney Noven Naidoo and state witness Sgt Nceba Diko commences. Diko is answering questions regarding the safety of Tiffany Nicole Meek (31) if she is released. #CaxonLocalMedia #Fyp #Journalist #RoodepoortRecord #JaydenLeeMeek #fleurhof #courtappearance #roodepoort #Murdersuspect #JusticeforJayden #JusticeForJaydenLee
When asked by the court about the relevance of this line of questioning, Naidoo argued that if the guards were arrested, they might not be available to testify.
Before proceedings concluded, the investigating officer presented Jayden’s school bag, which was found at Unit 13, where Meek resides.
A schoolbook was then used to confirm that Jayden had attended school on May 13 and had written work for that day.
The bail application is set to continue on Friday. Meek remains in custody.
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Read original story on www.citizen.co.za
