“WE WANT ANSWERS.”
That’s the message on one of the posters brandished by angry residents from Elsies River waiting for murder accused Mortimer Saunders to appear at the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Saunders stands accused of raping and killing three-year-old Courtney Pieters earlier this month.
Not only was he a tenant at their modest Cape Flats home‚ he was also her father’s best friend‚ according to family spokesperson Roegchanda Pascoe.
Her story has shocked the nation and prompted a visit to the family by President Jacob Zuma last week.
Zuma said it was one of the saddest things he had ever heard.
“That a man who stays here can rape the child‚ kill the child in the bedroom ... and break every bone to make the child fit in a plastic bag ... It shows something has gone wrong with society‚” he said.
About 200 people from the community gathered outside the court on a chilly Wednesday morning.
Police have had to block the entrance to the courtroom where Courtney’s visibly distraught parents — Juanita Pieters and Aron Fourie — have taken a seat.
More than 10 police officers have been deployed to the court room.
Community wants to know why Courtney was killed
“WE WANT ANSWERS.”
That’s the message on one of the posters brandished by angry residents from Elsies River waiting for murder accused Mortimer Saunders to appear at the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Saunders stands accused of raping and killing three-year-old Courtney Pieters earlier this month.
Not only was he a tenant at their modest Cape Flats home‚ he was also her father’s best friend‚ according to family spokesperson Roegchanda Pascoe.
Her story has shocked the nation and prompted a visit to the family by President Jacob Zuma last week.
Zuma said it was one of the saddest things he had ever heard.
“That a man who stays here can rape the child‚ kill the child in the bedroom ... and break every bone to make the child fit in a plastic bag ... It shows something has gone wrong with society‚” he said.
About 200 people from the community gathered outside the court on a chilly Wednesday morning.
Police have had to block the entrance to the courtroom where Courtney’s visibly distraught parents — Juanita Pieters and Aron Fourie — have taken a seat.
More than 10 police officers have been deployed to the court room.