“She grabbed him, and pulled him towards her and started hitting him.”
Sobbing as she spoke, a family member recalled the last moments of little Caswell Joseph Frans’ life, before he was found buried in a shallow grave in Vrygrond on Monday.
The 40-year-old woman arrested for the matter made a brief second appearance at the Simon’s Town Magistrates Court on Thursday morning.
Weekend Argus understands that the accused informed the court that she would be applying for bail at her next appearance in the next seven days.
The accused’s relative, who reportedly witnessed the child’s murder and alerted police, spoke to Weekend Argus on condition of anonymity, and claimed the 9-month-old was abused daily.
“It was horrible living under the same roof as the accused, because she not only threatened me and the lives of my children, but also hit the baby every day,” she said.
“She would smack him, choke him, throw him against the ground, he had blue marks, even on the day that he died.
“We always had to hear that this is not our child and not our responsibility, that she cared for the child, and we had no say over what happened, and if we decided to speak out she would kill my children,” she said.
The 40-year-old accused, who is not Caswell’s biological mother, was arrested shortly after the gruesome discovery, while she was at the hospital.
The 27-year-old witness said that Monday was the only day she could get away to report the incident, as she was being watched and followed by the accused following the incident that occurred last week Friday.
“(On Friday) I bathed him and laid him down on the bed, he started moaning and then she grabbed him and pulled him towards her.
“She then started to hit him and threw water in his face.
“I remember how she shouted that (he wasn’t moving) and she didn’t know what to do, so I grabbed him and started giving mouth-to-mouth but noticed it wasn’t working.
“I begged her to call the ambulance but she said she couldn’t because they would notice the blue marks on his body, my heart is still so sore,” she said.
The family member added that she wanted to look for help but then the accused grabbed a knife and threatened her in front of her three-year-old son.
“She then put his body in a bag and forced me to walk with her so that she could watch me. I feared for my children’s lives because I didn’t know what she’s capable of, she was also on drugs,” she explained.
“I eventually got an opportunity when she went to the hospital on Monday and went to tell aunty Mymoena, who informed the police,” she said.
In an earlier interview, activist and director of Where Rainbows Meet, Mymoena Scholtz said the community was shocked by the incident.
The accused is expected back in court on December 30 for bail application.