Baby 'used as an assault weapon'

17 February 2015 - 02:16 By Dominic Skelton
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Baby feet. File photo.
Baby feet. File photo.
Image: Thinkstock

A father is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court today on a charge of murder after he allegedly used his two-day-old baby as a weapon to assault the mother.

The couple reportedly had an argument over the baby's paternity in their flat in Pretoria West on Sunday morning.

The couple then left for a nearby filling station, where the alleged assault took place.

The suspect allegedly held the baby by its feet and assaulted the mother with it.

According to police spokesman Warrant Officer Wanda Olivier, paramedics said the baby was lying on the ground wrapped in a towel and drowning in its own vomit when paramedics arrived at around 3am.

"The suspect will appear in court [today] on charges of murder," she said.

Olivier said the baby later died at Kalafong Hospital.

  • A six-month-old baby girl, Khayone Ngangelizwe, died after she was repeatedly bashed against the floor and wall of her parents' Mdantsane, East London, home during an attack by a family member. The male relative has since been arrested and charged with murder.

He has been admitted to hospital, where he is being treated for various injuries, including broken ribs, after the baby's father allegedly assaulted him. He is also undergoing psychiatric assessment.

Additional reporting by Zwanga Mukhuthu

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