Chatsworth girl’s horrific abuse: accused couple points finger at in-laws

A CHATSWORTH couple facing charges of attempted murder and brutal child abuse of the woman's 10-year-old sister have denied responsibility.

They claimed the woman’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law inflicted the injuries.

This emerged in the Durban Regional Court this week, where the couple are on trial for allegedly inflicting years of torture and abuse on the child.

In October 2021, the child was placed in the care of her sister after their mother had died.

It emerged in court that the child had sustained brutal and unimaginable injuries due to the torture.

This included being stabbed several times, assaulted with a hammer on her face and head which caused her to lose her teeth and hair, and burns from boiling water which was thrown on her.

The trial of the two accused continued in the Durban Regional Court this week.

The couple have been charged with attempted murder, assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, and child neglect.

The woman is facing an additional charge of sexual assault after she allegedly forced the girl to touch her private parts while filming her on her cellphone. 

They couple have also been charged with child neglect for not providing a safe and secure environment for the minor girl by constantly torturing and abusing her, preventing her from attending school and refusing to give her food.

The charge sheet detailed the child’s chilling abuse claims – including having nails hammered into her foot, being hit with beer bottles until it broke on her head and repeatedly assaulted with a vice grip, broom stick and power cord.

She also claimed that her hands were tied behind her back while she was assaulted.  

The child alleged that her sister and brother-in-law, both 27-years-old, had tied a rope around her legs, and dragged her on the ground before hanging her by her legs from the ceiling, causing rope burn marks around her legs.

It has also been alleged that they poured petrol on her and threatened to set her alight.

However, the couple have claimed that they had not inflicted any of the injuries found on the child.

They alleged that it was the woman’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law - who had been living with the couple at the time - who had assaulted the child after she stole their belongings.

The couple, who share two children together, had also allegedly made the child live in unbearable living conditions, preventing her from eating food, and from seeking medical attention.

They were arrested in August 2023, a week after the girl - who was locked in the bathroom following an assault - escaped through the window and sought refuge at a friend's home.

In the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday, the couple’s attorney, Ms L Govender, said the couple denied assaulting the child. 

In her evidence, the mother-in-law said the child took her as a mother, and she took care of her as a daughter.

She said she did not agree with her son and daughter-in-law’s claims that she and her daughter had inflicted abuse on the child.

State prosecutor Advocate Cheryl Pillay said both accused had claimed that the child had stolen the mother-in-law’s ID and bank card, but it was later found in the toy box.

Pillay said the child was also accused of the theft of R623 which belonged to the sister-in-law (the man’s sister), who was living with them for a brief period because of marital problems.

In her evidence, the mother-in-law (the man’s mother), who was a State witness, dismissed claims that there was an altercation regarding the allegations that the child had stolen items from the house.

“I do not know anything about that. My ID was found with my bank card and hospital card. It was in the toy box. My daughter-in-law told me that it was her sister who was stealing the items. 

“I moved out of the house, and did not know what was happening. On the morning that the child went missing, my daughter-in-law’s brother, sister and uncle came to fight with me, and they were aggressive. They wanted to hit me but the people in the neighbourhood stood up for me,” she testified.

The man’s sister was also a witness for the State.

She told the court that she had never interacted with the child, and that she lived with the couple for one week while she was having problems with her husband.

She said during this time, her mother had moved out, and was not living in the same house as the child.

She claimed the child was locked in the room all the time, and she never saw the child when she stayed with her brother.

She said four days after she moved in with her brother, the child went missing.

She also dismissed the couple’s claims that she and her mother were responsible for the child’s extensive injuries.

She said the R623 which went missing, belonged to her and was found by the child’s grandfather a day after it was missing.

“The money was found in the washing basket which was filled with clothes. I never knew that the child was suspected of stealing the money. I was having my own problems at the time and never gave much attention to what was going on in the house. I stayed in the room because I was sick and consumed with my own problems.

“When the child went missing, I did not inquire about anything because it is not my business,” she testified.

The trial was postponed and both accused were remanded into custody at Westville Prison.

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