Lieutenant colonel André Traut, a police spokesman, said: “The suspect is being charged with kidnapping, fraud and contravening sections of the Children’s Act, in that she fraudulently pretended that she was the biological mother of a child. The accused woman’s sister reportedly said of Zephany: “She has been part of our lives for ever. They wept outside the courtroom, the Nurse family barely glancing at them as they walked by in a tight huddle.” The paper said: “Her family were devastated. ![]() Her expression was passive as she heard she would spend the next week behind bars at Woodstock police station. A small figure in a striped top, she clutched her hands nervously in the dock, the Cape Argus newspaper reported. On Friday she appeared at the Cape Town magistrates court charged with kidnapping, fraud and contravening sections of the Children’s Act. The woman accused of snatching Zephany is understood to be 50 years old with no other children. She stole our child, she stole 17 years, she stole everything from us.” She said of the woman who abducted the baby: “I don’t feel anything towards her. She said she’s got a very pretty, very beautiful daughter.”īerry, who has not met Zephany herself, said the teenager was currently in a “safe place” and would move in with her parents eventually, but they are not sure when. Zephany met her mother for the first time in 17 years on Thursday, Berry added. He was excited but he had to contain himself, to not say anything, and carry on investigating.” “Zephany and Cassidy were having burgers and her dad walked in. When Zephany’s brother saw her, he knew instantly.”īerry’s brother, Morné Nurse, was subsequently reunited with his daughter at a McDonald’s branch. Cassidy gave her a hug and it started from there. When she saw Zephany she said ‘my God, she looks just like me’. “It was the first day of school and the other kids told Cassidy ‘there’s a girl who looks just like you’. She’s back now and we’re going to have a big party.”īerry, a housekeeping supervisor at a hotel, described the moment when Zephany came face to face with her biological sister. We had birthday parties for her every year. “Over the years there was negative talk from people outside about her being killed, but not in the family. We felt why, why? The feeling now is very different from that time. Recalling the moment that Zephany was kidnapped in 1997, she said: “Oh my God, it was like a funeral. It feels like we’re in a dream and we must still wake up. Zephany is now in the care of social services, while the woman who allegedly kidnapped and raised her has been arrested and charged.Īs the Nurses came to terms with the extraordinary turn of events, Zephany’s aunt, Shantal Berry, said on Friday: “We feel very excited, happy. DNA tests confirmed that she was the Nurses’ long-lost daughter. ![]() ![]() Morné Nurse then saw Cassidy and Zephany eating burgers together in McDonald’s, and, struck by the physical similarities, contacted the police. But last month her biological sister, Cassidy Nurse, began attending the same school, and soon fellow pupils noticed a startling resemblance between them. Zephany grew up just a couple of miles away with a different name and a different family, never suspecting she was not their real daughter. Celeste Nurse with baby Zephany before she was abducted in April 1997.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |