Hughes was convicted of murder and rape in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, Nada-Jane Challita.
Former preschool teacher, Amber-Lee Hughes, who confessed to drowning her ex-partner’s four-year-old daughter, has been convicted of rape and murder.
On Thursday, Hughes appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, where Judge Richard Mkhabela delivered the verdict.
Hughes was arrested in 2023 in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, Nada-Jane Challita.
She faced two counts of rape and one count of murder.
The four-year-old girl was drowned in a bathtub inside the apartment Hughes shared with her father, Elie Chalita.
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Although Hughes initially pleaded not guilty and maintained her innocence throughout most of the trial, she later admitted to killing Nada-Jane following an emotionally charged dispute with Chalita over his infidelity.
Hughes told the court she had been suffering from borderline personality disorder at the time but insisted she was fully aware of her actions.
She also described multiple failed suicide attempts after the incident.
The accused, however, denied the rape charges, claiming she had no knowledge of those allegations.
Judge finds Amber-Lee Hughes guilty of murder
During proceedings, Mkhabela stated that Hughes’ admission made it unnecessary to review the evidence presented on whether the child’s drowning had been accidental.
“The accused’s latest admissions… is an admission that she drowned the deceased by sitting on top of her, and further that the drowning caused the deceased’s death.”
Mkhabela noted that Hughes’ “belated admission is incongruent with the scientific and medical evidence” presented by forensic pathologist Dr Hestelle van Stadan, who conducted the post-mortem examination.
“The said admissions meet all the elements of murder,” he added.
The judge highlighted Hughes’ continued denial of the rape charges before ultimately finding her guilty on two counts, one each for rape and murder.
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Following the verdict, Hughes’ lawyer, Marius Bouwer, requested a postponement to allow the defence time to prepare for sentencing proceedings.
State prosecutor Rolene Barnard confirmed an agreement on a sentencing date and explained that the defence was still awaiting a report from a social worker.
“May I request that we set a specific date for the reports so they can be furnished to the state and the court before?” Barnard told the judge.
She further indicated plans to submit a victim-impact report and present expert evidence.
“I will lead oral evidence,” Barnard said.
Judge Mkhabela postponed the case to 27 October for sentencing.
Nada-Jane Challita’s father reacts
Speaking to the media after the ruling, the father said he was relieved the judgment had finally been delivered following a two-month delay.
“Thank God today we had progress,” he said.
Elie welcomed the guilty verdict but admitted he was dissatisfied with the court’s decision not to uphold the rape count, describing the outcome as “two-thirds closure”.
He highlighted that while the ruling brought some relief, it did not change the fact that his daughter had lost her life.
“That doesn’t bring my child back. Nothing will bring her back. So it’s a feeling mixed of anger and relief. It’s just mixed emotions.”
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When asked if he expected the prescribed minimum sentence of life in prison, Elie reflected on the limits of justice.
“Obviously, I’m the parent of the child. The justice that I seek doesn’t exist in this world or in this lifetime.
“We are all humans here. The judge is a human. No one can bring back what is lost.
“So my real justice won’t be in this lifetime or on this earth, but it starts here, and it officially started today by the judge finding her guilty.”
He added that the ruling gave him some comfort moving forward.
“Maybe this feeling of feeling better is going to build up on me for a bit later. I don’t know, but right now, I’m still very emotional.
“So I am feeling slightly better. I hope this feeling grows on me, but it also can never erase what happened to my child.”
Elie stressed that the true victim remained his daughter.
“The real and initial victim here is my child, [who] was a human with a name and a character [of] her own, and she was tortured to death, and she was raped.
“So, as much as I’m the victim, I’m not the 100 % victim here.”
