The police sergeant testified that Tiffany Meek showed no panic during the search.
Community members outside the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on 14 July 2025. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
Tiffany Meek’s behaviour was under scrutiny in court, with a police officer testifying that she appeared oddly unfazed while her 11-year-old son, Jayden-Lee Meek, was missing.
The trial resumed on Friday, 12 June, in the Gauteng High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, where the state continues to build its case against Meek.
The mother stands accused of murder, child abuse, defeating the ends of justice, and crimen injuria.
Meek, who has been behind bars since her arrest on 11 July 2025, has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence.
Jayden-Lee was reported missing at the Florida Police Station on the night of 13 May 2025 after allegedly failing to return home from school.
Less than 24 hours later, the search ended in tragedy.
His body was discovered on a staircase inside the Swazi’s Place apartment complex in Fleurhof, just metres from his home.
The child had suffered fatal blunt force injuries and was found half-naked.
Jayden-Lee Meek search efforts
Sergeant Rito Ngoveni, a member of the search team, testified that the police and the family began looking for Jayden-Lee shortly after 10pm on the night he disappeared.
The search initially focused on scholar transport driver Ndonga Khumalo, the last person believed to have seen the child.
According to Ngoveni, Meek voiced immediate suspicion toward the driver while visiting his place of residence.
“I asked her, why was she suspecting that the driver is involved? She said because the security guard had told her that the child was not dropped off from school,” she said.
Despite Khumalo insisting he had dropped the boy off at around 4.30pm, Meek allegedly accused him of lying.
After failing to locate the child, the search party returned to the Swazi’s Place complex.
Ngoveni told the court that while police and community members actively searched the area, Meek did not fully participate as she remained upstairs in her flat.
Security guard confrontation
The search later shifted to the home of the day-shift security guard, located approximately one kilometre away.
“When we went on the search, she didn’t accompany us. She only accompanied us when we went to the security guard.”
The sergeant indicated that the security guard denied knowledge of the disappearance, but confirmed seeing Jayden-Lee twice that day – once when he arrived home and again after changing out of his school uniform.
Meek, she testified, challenged the guard’s version of events, accusing him of consistently smoking marijuana and sleeping on duty.
“[She told me] ‘you mustn’t take his story’.”
Tiffany Meek’s demeanour draws attention
A central issue in Ngoveni’s testimony was Meek’s emotional state throughout the ordeal.
“The person that was concerned was the grandmother. She was the one that was crying,” the police officer testified.
In contrast, the state witness described Meek as composed.
“I have been 16 years in the service and that was my first time seeing someone whose child is missing who was so calm. She was not in a panic.”
Under cross-examination, Ngoveni acknowledged that police did not search inside Meek’s apartment on the night of the disappearance.
She also confirmed that not all units in the complex were checked.
Ngoveni explained that Meek had told officers that Jayden-Lee did not have friends or connections within the complex, which influenced the scope of their search.
“Another thing is that it was late. We would knock twice and no one wanted to open for us,” she remarked.
‘I didn’t think the child could be dead’
When questioned about how a parent might typically respond in such incidents, the officer said: “We don’t respond the same to situations, but if my child was missing, I could never be calm like that, even if I don’t cry or shout.”
She added: “I even mentioned to my colleague that I thought this lady knew where the child was because of the way she was acting. I didn’t think the child could be dead.
“We even thought that maybe the child is with the father and she wanted to use the police to get the child from the father.”
The trial has been postponed to 19 and 20 August.
