'Kidnapper' told Hawks Zephany was hers
The woman accused of kidnapping baby Zephany Nurse was calm and composed when police first confronted her at her home last year.She insisted the baby was her biological child and had no objection to DNA samples taken.But her composure crumbled when she was told Zephany - the child she had raised as her daughter for 18 years - was to be taken to a place of safety.This is according to Hawks Detective Warrant Officer Petro Coetzee, who went to the 50-year-old suspect's Lavender Hill, Cape Town, home to execute a search warrant on February 25 last year.Coetzee was giving evidence in the trial, in which the woman has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, fraud and contravention of sections of the Children's Act."[She] told us [Zephany] was her child and that [her husband] was the father," Coetzee said. "DNA swabs were taken and she had no objection."Coetzee said the woman was "calm and composed" until she was told Zephany would be removed. "[She] showed emotion for the first time."According to the state, the woman snatched Zephany at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, on April 30 1997.The defence will present its case on Monday...
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