Neighbours of a man accused of killing his two-day-old baby on Sunday said he was not known as a violent individual.
“We are all still shocked at what he did. We did not know him as a violent man. He was a nice person,” a neighbour said this week.
Alexander Sorda, a foreign national, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and would be back in court on 24 February to apply for bail.
The neighbour said when he and his partner argued, it sometimes ended up in things being thrown around. “I do not want to lie, I do not know what happened but all I heard was a woman screaming. It is truly heartbreaking what happened,” the neighbour said.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Wanda Olivier said Sorda was facing a murder charge. It was not yet clear whether the mother had laid assault charges against him.
BestCare Ambulance spokesperson Xander Loubser earlier said the child was seriously injured in a Nicolas Heights Flat in Church Street in Pretoria West around 03:00 on Sunday.
“We arrived at the scene and found the baby lying in her own vomit, covered with a towel. We assessed the child and tried resuscitation as the baby had no pulse.”
Loubser said the mother of the child had a wound to her head and was traumatised. According to the mother, the father had been intoxicated when a fight broke out after he asked her if she was sure the child was his.
“The mother claimed the father grabbed the baby by the feet and swung the infant at her and then at the floor.”
Loubser said after assessing the baby’s eyes, it was clear there was physical brain trauma. “We took the child to Kalafong hospital where doctors and paediatricians took over.”
The little girl died in hospital.
According to reports, the baby girl had not yet been named because due to tradition, she would only be named a week or month after birth, but she was called Precious.
Someone close to the family said the mother was doing fine. Funeral arrangements were still to be announced.
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