13-year-old accused of killing granny heard voices before the attack

A 13-year-old girl accused of bludgeoning her 63-year-old granny to death, on 18 November 2019, in Tongaat, Durban has been declared mentally fit, despite hearing voices leading up to the attack. 

According to the Daily News, the girl’s lawyer told the Verulam Magistrate’s Court that she would like a second opinion, as the girl had been hearing voices in her head before the incident.

The girl’s family had taken her to their priest before, to pray for her, which made the voices stop for a while. However, it returned in the days leading to the attack on the 63-year-old woman.

13-year-old declared mentally fit 

The court heard that after her arrest on November 19, the girl was sent to the district surgeon for her mental state to be assessed and was found to be ‘normal.’

However, her attorney on Wednesday 27 November, requested that another mental assessment be performed by a private doctor.

The magistrate granted the attorney permission to take her to a private doctor for a psychological assessment.

Will the 13-year-old remain in custody? 

The magistrate said the crime the girl was accused of was very serious, and the court would ensure she would be taken care of.

He said the mental state issue should be carefully assessed as it would influence the court’s decision on whether the girl should be released into a guardian’s care or remain in custody.

The teenager faces charges of murder and obstructing the administration of justice.

The case has been adjourned to 11 December 2019, and the girl remains in custody, in a hospital.

That dreadful day 

SAPS spokesperson in Durban, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, confirmed that when Tongaat police received a complaint on 18 November 2019, that a 63-year-old woman had been attacked by an unknown person with a hammer and that her granddaughter was screaming for help, they wasted no time and proceeded to Jan Roz Crescent in Fairbreeze. 

The murder scene

Mbele went on to describe the scene of the murder.

“On arrival at the scene, they were greeted by the members of the community and a young lady who was screaming and crying hysterically. The devastated female led police to the lounge where her grandmother’s lifeless body was lying on the floor,” said Mbele. 

Mbele said: “We can confirm a 13-year-old suspect was arrested yesterday for murder. She is due to appear in the Verulam Magistrates’ court on Thursday, 21 November 2019.”

The 13-year-old’s story 

Upon questioning, the 13-year-old described to police what had happened and what she was doing at the time of the murder.

“On questioning, the child stated that she was hanging laundry on the line outside when she heard her granny screaming for help. She went back inside the house and noticed an unknown male assaulting her granny with a hammer. She claimed that she fled and sought assistance from a member of the community who went back to the house, however that man had fled,” added Mbele. 

Due to CCTV cameras showing that nobody else entered the home that day, the mother of the 13-year-old brought her to the police station, on Tuesday 19 November 2019, where she was arrested.