A father sat motionless on Thursday as he was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms for what the court called the barbaric and monstrous killing of his eight-day-old baby daughter, as well as for raping the infant.

The reasons Hugo Ferreira gave the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for murdering and raping his infant daughter, was because he was angry with the child’s mother, his mother, as well as towards his former wife.

The latter two women, he said, had abandoned him, while the mother of the murdered child, Maureen Brandt, had left him alone with the crying child while she went off to sell some clothes for money.

In pleading guilty to murder and rape, Ferreira explained that on June 8, 2023, Brandt told him that she wanted to go and ask her ex-boyfriend for money for drugs or to sell the baby’s clothing for money.

Ferreira said he was upset and angry, and told Brandt that she had five minutes to go outside as he did not want to remain with the baby. An argument broke out and he lost his temper and slapped Brandt, who then left.

According to Ferreira, the baby then started to cry incessantly as she was hungry and soaking wet. He removed her wet clothing and could not replace it with dry clothes as Brandt took the baby’s clothing with her.

The baby continued crying and as he was angry, he picked her up by her neck and told the baby if she wanted something to cry about, he would give her a reason to cry.

According to him, he slapped the baby on her buttocks, pushed her down on the mattress, and inserted his fingers into her private part. The baby continued crying and he picked her up again by her neck, lifted her, and threw her onto the ground. He repeated this action several times.

Ferreira said the baby lost consciousness several times but the moment she regained consciousness again and started crying, he picked her up again by her neck and continued throwing her around in the room.

As a result, the baby’s arms turned yellow and she was breathing with difficulty. He stated that he realised that she was injured and that he did not want Brandt to see the child.

He took her to neighbours who told him that she was injured and seemed to be dying. The baby was taken to the Carletonville Hospital, where she died the next morning due to her injuries.

In sentencing him, Judge Portia Phahlane said Ferreira had omitted many of his actions, as the post-mortem report of the injuries painted a picture of a barbaric attack.

The baby had suffered brain damage and injuries across her body, as well as a needle mark. The post-mortem also showed that he had done much more while raping her, as she also had injuries around her anal area.

Meanwhile, no family was at court to see justice done for little Caitlyn - her mother is said to have disappeared. She and Ferreira mainly lived on the streets or in abandoned buildings.

The only people who kept an eye on the proceedings were members of a GBV group, who often gasped loudly as the shocking facts unfolded, while some could be seen shedding a tear for the baby they did not know.

Judge Phahlane, meanwhile, said Ferreira has no remorse for what he has done and he should be removed from society for very long, as this cold-blooded murderer is unlikely to ever rehabilitate.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za

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Father sentenced to double life term for killing 8-day-old daughter