- A Gauteng mother is accused of killing her 16-year-old son and attempting to kill her seven-year-old daughter.
- It is alleged that she poisoned them after she was the victim of a scam.
- The case has been postponed to August for further investigation.
A 37-year-old Gauteng mother has been released on R5 000 bail in a case in which she is accused of poisoning her two minor children.
She appeared before the Nigel Magistrate's Court on Monday for the murder of her 16-year-old son and attempted murder of her seven-year-old daughter.
The daughter is fighting for her life in hospital in the intensive care unit (ICU).
It is alleged that she poisoned the children after she was scammed out of a large amount of money.
After poisoning them, she drove to the Free State with them, according to Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
"[W]hen they got to Frankfort [in the] Free State, the children started falling ill. She then took them to the nearest hospital.
"Upon arrival, the boy child passed on and the girl was admitted and has been in ICU since then," Mahanjana added.
When the doctor realised that the children had been poisoned, he called the police, who interviewed the mother.
She added:
She said police found the poison in a plastic container in the woman's kitchen.
The woman told the court that she intended to plead not guilty to the charges and the case was postponed to 24 August for further investigation.
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