News / Local
Mum throws baby into a dam after tying stones to the infant's back
29 Feb 2012 at 14:23hrs | Views
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl from Fort Rixon in Insiza district threw her five-month-old son into a dam after tying stones to the infant's back a Bulawayo court heard on Tuesday.
The 17 year old mum is said to have left home with the baby just before midday, stating she was visiting her husband in Zvishavane.
Instead, said the prosecutor, she proceeded to the nearby Cocktail Dam where she tied stones to the baby's back and then threw him into the water, alive.
Prosecutors, Masimba Saruwaka, told the court that stones were used to put weight on the baby to send its lifeless body to the bottom of the dam.
Saruwaka told the court: "She left the scene and was later seen within the resettlement area where she resides, selling the infant's clothing items."
The girl returned home around 3PM and told her disbelieving family that she had left the child with her husband in Zvishavane.
Prosecutors say the family become suspicious because of the the time she left home and the time she returned which was a bit impossible for someone to go to Zvishavane and come back. under intense questioning from her family, she finally admitted killing the baby by drowning him in the Cocktail dam.
Local members of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee later retrieved the body before calling in the police.
The mother, whose name is being withheld, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sikhumbuzo Nyathi charged with infanticide.
No plea was entered during the brief hearing. She was remanded in custody to March 12.
The grisly killing was committed on February 21 this year.
The 17 year old mum is said to have left home with the baby just before midday, stating she was visiting her husband in Zvishavane.
Instead, said the prosecutor, she proceeded to the nearby Cocktail Dam where she tied stones to the baby's back and then threw him into the water, alive.
Prosecutors, Masimba Saruwaka, told the court that stones were used to put weight on the baby to send its lifeless body to the bottom of the dam.
Saruwaka told the court: "She left the scene and was later seen within the resettlement area where she resides, selling the infant's clothing items."
The girl returned home around 3PM and told her disbelieving family that she had left the child with her husband in Zvishavane.
Prosecutors say the family become suspicious because of the the time she left home and the time she returned which was a bit impossible for someone to go to Zvishavane and come back. under intense questioning from her family, she finally admitted killing the baby by drowning him in the Cocktail dam.
Local members of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee later retrieved the body before calling in the police.
The mother, whose name is being withheld, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sikhumbuzo Nyathi charged with infanticide.
No plea was entered during the brief hearing. She was remanded in custody to March 12.
The grisly killing was committed on February 21 this year.
Source - News
