A female nursery school teacher has gone on trial for raping and murdering her boyfriend’s four-year-old daughter when the girl was left alone in her care. Amber Lee Hughes, 25, stands accused of the rape and murder of Nada-Jane Challita, her lover’s four-year-old daughter, and she has now gone on trial at the Johannesburg High Court in South Africa.
Hughes’ trial began on Monday, with the defendant pleading not guilty. She allegedly raped and murdered the little girl in January 2023 by assault by penetration, before drowning her and cutting her wrists.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman, Phindi Mjonondwane, said: “The court heard that the preschool teacher allegedly developed a romantic relationship with the deceased’s father. She moved in with them and during her stay, their relationship was allegedly marked by frequent altercations.”
Mjonondwane said that the defendant regularly threatened to harm the child during these arguments. It is alleged that when the father, Elie Challita, left the girl alone in Hughes’ care, she raped the little girl.
The spokesperson also said: “It is also alleged that she drowned her and cut both her wrists. The deceased’s lifeless body was later found floating in the bathtub.”
Challita, who was heard as a witness, told the court that Hughes had grown jealous of his daughter. He said: “[She] was jealous about me giving [Nada-Jane] more attention and spending more money on her.”
On the day of the murder, Challita had gone on a job interview, but Hughes seemed angry that he did not give her a goodbye kiss before leaving and suspected him of cheating.
She sent him a chilling text message saying: “You broke my heart; I’m going to burn yours. How could you do that to me?” The father said: “I felt my heart fall from my chest; I felt something was very wrong.”
The prosecution called Dr Hestelle van Staden, an expert in forensic pathology, as a witness on Tuesday. She explained her findings from the autopsy and said the cause of death was asphyxiation and sexual assault. The trial continues.
The harrowing case comes after a man admitted raping a newborn baby to death while his wife was out buying his daughter nappies. Hugo Ferreira, 37, from Welverdiend, South Africa, brutally killed his daughter when she was just one week old.
Speaking to the media, he admitted that he wanted to “give her something to cry about” before carrying out a sickening sexual assault.
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