‘Baby Nikita was not my biological daughter,’ says accused in murder case

A 34-year-old man accused of murdering and raping his four-year-old daughter, known as Baby Nikita, has told the court that he was not her biological father.

The man, who appeared in the Johannesburg High Court, made the admission during his sentencing proceedings after previously pleading guilty to the charges. He confirmed that the child was the daughter of his co-accused, who is the child’s mother.

During questioning about the assaults, he said he had used his hands to hit both Baby Nikita and her sibling.

The state referred to the postmortem findings, which recorded blunt force trauma to the head and hypoxia, a condition in which the body’s tissues and organs do not receive enough oxygen, as the cause of death and its complications. The defence argued that hypoxia was another factor that should be considered in mitigation when the court decided on the sentence.

The state also argued that the rape charges involving a child attracted life imprisonment, while the child abuse charges carried a prescribed minimum sentence of 10 years. The court reserved its decision after hearing arguments from both sides. The matter was postponed to October 27 for sentencing, with the accused remaining in custody.