KZN grandmother accused of baby’s torture and murder dies in prison

Baby X was declared dead by paramedics at her home in Imperial Drive in Havenside, KZN on November 20, 2014.

Community leaders at the funeral of the toddler. FILE PHOTO

The Havenside grandmother accused of starving, torturing and murdering her three-year-old granddaughter, Baby X, has died in Westville Prison, after suffering from shortness of breath yesterday, Rising Sun Chatsworth reports.

Confirming her death, the 59-year-old woman’s Legal Aid attorney, Theyagaraj Pillay, said he received news of his client’s passing from the prosecutor’s office yesterday, and said there was no formal death certificate produced as yet.

The grandmother’s former attorney, Vijay Sivakumoor, said he also received a call from a representative from the department of correctional services notifying him of the death of the murder accused, as the representative did not know that he was no longer representing the accused.

Baby X was declared dead by paramedics at her home in Imperial Drive in Havenside, on November 20, 2014. Her maternal grandmother, who was 55-years-old at the time, and her 31-year-old mother, were arrested and charged for her murder.

According to the indictment, the little girl and her two siblings (11-year-old brother and eight-year-old sister) faced torture and abuse for several years. The youngest of the children, a two-year-old girl, was spared.

Bayview Community Policing Forum chairman and community activist Brandon Pillay said: “I feel like she was robbed of justice. The granny will not have her day in court where she will be convicted and punished for the crime she committed. It is a really sad day for the Chatsworth community.”