A 37-year-old South African man pleaded guilty to R3Ping and defeated his eight-day oldest daughter to D3ATH and will be sentenced next Thursday.
Welverdiend, near Carltonville, Hugo Ferreira appeared in the Pretoria High Court on March 25, 2025 in Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane.
His youngest daughter was taken care of by herself on June 8, 2023, according to court documents.
The child’s mother, Maureen Brand, apparently took the girl with him to sell some clothes to buy diapers for the child. When she returned later, the baby suffered serious injuries after her body and S8X were attacked.
Baby was taken to Carltonville Hospital and suffered a head injury the next day
Ferreira said in his confession explanation that he was “unhappy” because his mother left the baby under his care. He told her to come back in five minutes because she had to breastfeed the baby.
But the little girl continued to cry because she was hungry and the diapers had to change.
Ferreira said he became angry and frustrated when the baby tried to change his diapers.
“I grabbed the baby at the back of my neck and repeatedly hit her hips. In the process, I pushed her head towards the surface where I was working. I accepted it as a cruel and terrible attack, especially on a young baby like this. The action was obviously illegal and I did it on purpose,” Ferreira said in his plea.
He then “decided to give her some crying” and he beat her up after that, too.
“When her mother came back, I realized she would find something wrong. I kept the baby away from her until later in the day. I did this because I realized the baby was seriously injured.”
Ferreira said in his confession explanation that he knew what he was doing was wrong, which could lead to the baby’s d8ath. Despite this, he continued.
He also admitted that even though he was affected by drugs, especially methamphetamine, it did not affect him so much that he was not responsible for his actions.
The state and the defense concluded their statements in court Tuesday, with Ferreira going to be sentenced in the next Thursday court.
The crime took place in the back room of the railway house where Ferreira and Brand stayed at the entrance of Welverdiend.
Captain Jacques Nagel of Detective Carltonville is the investigative officer.
