TORTURED: Scars from the injuries inflicted on the girl (10)
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A Chatsworth woman, who tortured and brutally assaulted her 10-year-old sister who was left in her care after their mother died, was handed a double life sentence for her “heinous” crimes.
The woman’s husband, who acted in common purpose with her, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The couple, both aged 31, appeared in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday for sentencing.
The State was represented by advocate Cheryl Reddy.
The woman, who has two children, aged nine and six, was found guilty of attempted murder, child abuse, child neglect, compelled self-sexual assault, and intimidation.
Her charges stem from years of abuse she inflicted on her sister over a period of about three years.
She was also charged with the attempted murder of her husband’s mother and her husband’s late sister’s daughter, who is a minor.
The charges relate to her pouring petrol over the two, and threatening to burn them, and also assaulting them.
Her husband was charged for child abuse, child neglect, attempted murder and the intimidation of the 10-year-old girl.
In her judgment, Magistrate Queen Khuzwayo said the evidence painted a deeply disturbing picture of relentless abuse, deprivation, humiliation, intimidation and violence within what ought to have been the safety of a family home.
“The complainant impressed the court as an exceptionally credible witness. Despite her tender age, prolonged trauma and the inherently painful nature of the events she described, her evidence remained coherent, detailed and materially consistent throughout.
“Her evidence bore the hallmarks of truthfulness. She described the assaults with painful specificity: the beer bottle smashed against her head, the vice grip used on her joints and fingers, the hammer blows that damaged her teeth, the boiling water burns, the rope restraints, the petrol threats, and the humiliating confinement.
“These were not vague or rehearsed allegations. They were descriptions grounded in lived experience and trauma. Her inability to remember exact dates for every assault is entirely understandable. Indeed, given the repetitive and ongoing nature of the abuse over a period of approximately two years, such inability is wholly consistent with human experience and trauma psychology,” Khuzwayo added.
She said the child’s evidence remained steadfast under lengthy and searching cross-examination.
“The complainant emerged as an honest, reliable and compelling witness. Her testimony bore the unmistakable hallmark of lived trauma. She did not seek to exaggerate the role of either accused.
“The complainant was a child who had already suffered the loss of her mother and who was entitled to protection, care and safety within the family environment. Instead, she endured years of cruelty, degradation, violence and terror at the hands of those who were duty-bound to protect her.
“The brutality described in this case shocks the conscience of the court. The assaults were not impulsive or isolated. They formed part of a sustained pattern of domination, humiliation and abuse directed at a vulnerable child over a prolonged period. The evidence reveals calculated cruelty rather than momentary loss of temper,” Khuzwayo added.
The chilling abuse details which emerged in court included that the woman had stuck a nail into her sister’s foot, hit her with beer bottles, broom sticks and tools until it broke.
The girl was stabbed several times on her body and vagina, 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.
She also claimed that her hands were tied behind her back while she was assaulted, and that she had been suspended from the ceiling with rope tied to her ankles, leaving her upside down for hours.
She said they poured petrol on her and threatened to set her alight.
The couple 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.
Both accused have been in custody since their arrest.
They told the court that they would not be appealing their sentencing.
The woman’s life sentences will not run concurrently.