The case of the man who is accused of murdering his wife on February 9 this year and hiding her body in a freezer for days before confessing to the crime has drawn attention in the Pretoria High Court.
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The couple’s son, who has just turned five and who has endured more than his fair share of trauma, is at the centre of an international legal tug of war over who will care for him for the rest of his childhood.
The man (47) committed the crime on February 9 this year and pleaded not guilty in the Port Shepstone Regional Court, saying he had acted in self-defence. He is expected to apply for bail soon, which the state will oppose.
Now the child’s maternal grandmother, who lives in Brazil, is fighting for custody. In June, the man’s sister launched an urgent application in the High Court in Pretoria, with the blessing of the man, who is in Westville Prison.
She has secured a temporary order that the child reside with her. The grandmother in Brazil was not informed of this.
In a report before the court, Minke Saayman of the Child Welfare Centre in Johannesburg said, from her sessions with the little boy, it appeared he had been exposed to events which have resulted in severe trauma, and that he needed to be emotionally stabilised.
The man is due to appear in court in August, when a date will be set for him to be admitted to the state psychiatric hospital, Fort Napier, for observation.
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