Four-year-old Jandre Botha refused to call his mother's lesbian lover "daddy"

A tabloid tragedy I know. But still.....

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Four-year-old Jandre Botha refused to call his mother's lesbian lover "daddy" - and paid with his life.

Jandre's father, Jan Botha, was in the Vereeniging regional court's public gallery on Wednesday when his former wife, Hanelie Botha, 31, and her partner, Engeline de Nysschen, 33, were found guilty of the gruesome murder of his son.

He sat in court holding the hands of his fiancée, Yolanda Deysel, and listened attentively to magistrate Rita Willemse, who, in her judgment, accepted evidence that among the reasons that led to Jandre's brutal ordeal was his refusal to call De Nysschen "daddy".

Both testified that while Jandre was assaulted, his mother failed to intervene or protect him. Evidence showed he had sustained horrific injuries, including a fractured skull and brain damage, as well as broken legs, collarbone, hands and pelvis.

The mother failed to protect him at the very beginning of her slide into
the pit.

The court accepted the evidence of Professor Mohammed Dada, a trauma expert, who said the boy's injuries were similar to those of a person who had fallen from a double-storey building.

The "pair's" version...

The court ruled that she had lied to protect De Nysschen. The doctors who had examined Jandre dismissed the pair's version that he had slipped in the bath.

The magistrate criticised Hanelie for failing to report Jandre's abuse at the hands of her lover to the social workers monitoring Jandre's progress, after she had gained custody of him during a lengthy court battle with her ex-husband.

She also failed to report the abuse to her ex-husband.The boy's father became aware of Jandre's abuse only on the day of his death, June 12, 2003. De Nysschen contacted him and said Jandre had fallen earlier in the day and had died.