A Durban mother who killed her toddler daughter three years ago has been sentenced to an effective 20 years in jail.

The 35-year-old woman pleaded guilty in the Durban High Court.

In a Section 112 Plea, the woman pleaded guilty to charges of murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KwaZulu-Natal, in her plea, the accused said that she had a difficult childhood and had witnessed and been subjected to violence.

"She said that she was raped at the age of 17 and this traumatic experience had caused her to attempt suicide," said NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

"The accused said that she was destitute and staying in a shelter in 2019 when the deceased was born."

In her plea, the accused explained that she met a woman on social media who offered to foster her daughter (the deceased) for her, to which she agreed.

She said the toddler stayed with the foster mother for three years.

"During this time, the accused married the father of her youngest child. This man, who resides in the United Kingdom(UK), then encouraged her to bring the deceased back to live with them so that they could be a family. The deceased was thus brought back to her home.

The woman had three children, aged 9, three (the deceased), and a one-year-old.

"However, her husband had to return to the UK because his South African VISA had expired. He left her alone with the three children (her older daughter, the deceased, and her youngest child). "She said that she would often beat the two girls during her bouts of anger and throw things at them."

Speaking about events leading up to the murder, the accused in her plea said on May 31, 2022, she had taken her youngest child, who suffers from glaucoma, to the clinic as he was unwell.

"When she returned from the clinic, she tried feeding her youngest child, but he refused to eat and started crying.

"She then prepared food for the deceased, but she too refused the food and started crying. The accused said that she got angry and frustrated and hit the deceased with a rolling pin all over her body as well as on her head."

The accused said that the children continued to cry, and the situation was worsened by the deceased soiling herself.

She said both children would not stop crying.

"The accused said that she was very angry and hit the deceased as she washed her. She eventually strangled the deceased. The accused said that her older child tried to stop her, but she was so enraged that she continued to attack the deceased. When she eventually realised that the child had stopped breathing, she panicked. She dressed the child and wrapped her in a blanket. Thereafter, she phoned her husband to tell him what she had done. He contacted a doctor, and the police were called to the scene."

In a victim impact statement, the foster mother said that she had taken care of the deceased since she was three weeks old until a month and a half before she was murdered.

"The woman said that she is heartbroken and that the incident has adversely affected her. Further, she mentioned that she would have taken the deceased back if the accused had told her that she was not coping."

The NPA said that in deviating, the court considered that the accused chose to plead guilty.

"The court also accepted that the accused had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse. The fact that the accused had been in custody for three years and that she required medication to treat some of her conditions also led to the court’s deviation."

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