Five people, including a young mother, are expected to plead on Tuesday to charges against them relating to a brutal attack on two women academics in Peddie, in the Eastern Cape last year.
Michelle Cocks (31) of Rhodes University, and Dr Isla Grundy (47) of Stellenbosch University, were hijacked, kidnapped, brutally assaulted and then left for dead in the bushes in September last year.
Judge Andreas Dhlodhlo on Monday postponed their case to Tuesday, saying he had not finalised another matter before him.
One of the five suspects surprised those in the public gallery on Monday when he walked into the Bisho High Court cuddling a three-month-old baby. The infant, wrapped in a blue-and-white blanket, was his son. Nosisi Kortjan (18) of Paterson, is the baby’s mother and one of the accused.
The four men are: Simphiwe Nivathi (18) Nqaba Mabhoza (20) Xolisile Msipah (18) and a 17-year-old — all from Mdantsane. The five are charged with two counts of robbery, two of kidnapping and two of attempted murder. All five were remanded in custody.
Cocks was pregnant at the time of the attack and suffered a miscarriage as a result of her trauma. Kortjan and Cocks were at about the same stage of their pregnancies when the attack took place. Cocks suffered facial and head injuries, a punctured lung, broken and cracked teeth, and an injured shoulder. She later miscarried a boy baby. Neither of the two women were in court.
According to court papers the five suspects were travelling on a dirt road in the Bell Administrative Area near Peddie on September 1 when their vehicle broke down.
The following day, the stranded group encountered the two researchers. Grundy was driving her Toyota Tazz and Cocks was the passenger. One of the accused allegedly rolled a spare wheel into the road forcing Grundy to stop driving.
No sooner had the vehicle stopped when the accused began assaulting both women, and stole the car. Grundy and Cocks were allegedly forced back into the vehicle, which was driven to an isolated spot in the Bell area.
Four of the suspects, including Kortjan, then dragged the women from the vehicle and savagely attacked them. They were repeatedly battered and kicked, while the 17-year-old suspect allegedly stood guard at the roadside.
The five youths later drove off in the car, leaving the women for dead.
The women were discovered 14 hours later by a passer-by. They were airlifted to St Dominic’s Hospital in East London. – Sapa