Child suffers 'bath tub' burns for hours before he died‚ court hears

A three-year-old boy‚ who was allegedly put in a scorching hot bath by the man caring for him‚ suffered excruciating pain for hours before he finally died.

This was the testimony of pathologist Dr Hestelle Nel in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Friday‚ in the bail application proceedings of the couple accused of his death.

The child was in the care of the man when he was allegedly dunked in the hot water before the woman‚ his mother‚ returned home from work that evening in July last year.

The couple‚ who may not be named to protect the identities of their other children‚ face counts of murder and child abuse.

The woman claimed that the man‚ with whom she and her son lived‚ was abusive towards her and was in a foul mood when she arrived home that evening‚ which prevented her from immediately attending to her child.

The child had a red mark on his face‚ she told the court in an affidavit. When she confronted the man about this he allegedly said there was nothing wrong with the boy and that he was just sleeping.

The boy allegedly said‚ “I am okay‚ Mama.”

• READ MORE: Family weep for couple in dock over toddler who 'died afraid and in terrible pain'A man accused of killing a three-year-old child by bathing him in boiling hot water‚ wept as he heard he would be spending more time behind bars.

Later that night when she felt it was safe enough to check on the boy properly he again confirmed that he was fine and went to bed‚ she said.

She also claimed that the child went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was only the following morning at about 07:30 that she found his lifeless body‚ she said.

But Nel‚ who discussed the results of the post-mortem with the pathologist‚ said she could not accept woman's version of events.

“The feet are severely burnt. In fact‚ I have never seen feet this severely burnt ... I cannot imagine anyone would be able to walk on these feet‚” she told the court.

According to the post-mortem the boy sustained burns to 60% of his body and because of bleeding his brain had swelled to the size of a seven-year-old.

“I cannot agree that a person would sustain this number of burns and say I am fine‚” Nel said.

“I simply cannot imagine that this child would have got up and gone to the bathroom. The post-mortem shows his bladder was full.”

Nel testified that tap water can reach levels high enough to cause severe burns - about 60 degrees Celsius - depending on the geyser setting.

The man claimed the child fell into the water and showed no signs of discomfort.

Nel disagreed‚ saying the nature of the boy's injuries suggested that he was dunked into the water and would have suffered significant pain.

The boy‚ who also sustained femur and rib fractures‚ would have experienced restricted breathing in his final hours‚ she said.

The blood in the child's brain was clotted‚ which indicated that he had survived for hours after sustaining the injuries‚ Nel said.

The woman bowed her head and wept as she sat in the dock - apart from the man - and listened to Nel's testimony.

The matter was postponed to March 20 for judgment in the bail application.