Zephany's other 'sister'

23 February 2016 - 08:24 By Philani Nombembe

The trial of the woman who allegedly snatched Zephany Nurse from her sleeping mother's arms almost 19 years ago was postponed to today in the Cape Town High Court to allow the prosecution and the accused to reach an agreement on certain facts and so speed up the hearing. The woman accused of the abduction cannot be named to protect the identity of Zephany, who was raised under another name.Among the people who filled the public gallery yesterday was Georgina Hendricks, 61, of Retreat.She claimed outside the court that the accused's husband was the father of her 24-year-old granddaughter, whom he had failed to "take care of ".Said Hendricks: "He has never taken good care of his biological daughter but this case is his world."Last Saturday he came to my place with Zephany to wish my granddaughter a happy birthday. I got a fright and thought to myself: 'You [Zephany] must be with your [biological] parents, not with him.' It makes me sad because he has his own child who is studying, but my daughter has to raise R19000 [to study]."The accused's lawyer, Reaz Khan, said his client's husband could not comment on Hendricks' claims because he might be called to testify in the kidnapping case.Zephany was reunited with her biological parents, Celeste and Morné Nurse, in February last year. Earlier, Celeste and Morné's daughter, Cassidy, enrolled at the same high school as Zephany. When the two met they were struck by their physical resemblance. The police were called in and the case unravelled...

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