Convicted child killer Amber-Lee Hughes outlined her mental health struggles in testimony to the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday in a bid to plead for a lesser sentence.
She was convicted in August for the rape and murder of four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita in January 2023.
The teacher-assistant at a preschool attended by Nada-Jane began a romantic relationship with the child’s father, Eli. Their affair was volatile, and she accused him of infidelity on the day of the murder, when he left his daughter in her care.
Hughes, in previous admissions to court, said she had run a bath for Nada-Jane, climbed into it herself and sat on her until she drowned.
While giving evidence in mitigation of sentence, Hughes, 26, testified about her mental health history.
She told the court she received psychological treatment at the age of nine after struggling to adjust to a new school environment following her family’s move from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg.
Her mental health worsened during her teenage years, when she was diagnosed by psychiatrists with bipolar disorder type 2, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.
The court heard she was prescribed antidepressants and mood stabilisers from the age of 13.
Hughes testified that at age 15, she suffered a mental breakdown after overdosing on medication and was admitted to ICU before being involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric facility in Alberton for nearly a month.
She told the court she began self-harming at the age of 13 and made multiple suicide attempts between the ages of 14 and 16, including overdosing and attempting to drown herself.
Hughes said financial constraints later affected her ability to consistently access psychiatric care and medication.
She told the court she had stopped taking prescribed medication about two months before the incident because she could not afford it.
Since her detention, Hughes said she has resumed psychiatric treatment and has consulted a psychiatrist on several occasions.
The trial continues.
TimesLIVE
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