Woman in 鈥榮tolen baby鈥 case gets bail
Print Edition
A WOMAN charged with stealing a newborn baby from its sleeping mother 17 years ago was yesterday granted bail by a South African court in a case of wrenching emotional complexity and coincidence.
The kidnapped baby is now almost 18 and in her final year of high school after being raised by the 50-year-old accused woman and her husband, who she believed were her real parents.
The biological parents of the baby they named Zephany — and whose birthday they marked every year of her absence — told reporters that their joy at finding her overwhelmed any desire for revenge.
Zephany, who was renamed by her new family but can’t be identified, is now living with a social worker until a decision is made on her future.
The woman whom she believed to be her mother was freed on 5,000 rand (US$420) bail on condition she does not contact potential state witnesses, who include her husband and Zephany.
She faces a minimum of five years in prison if convicted of kidnapping, but prosecutors said they might be open to a plea bargain after consultations with both sides.
Zephany’s biological parents have said there will be no pressure on the girl to live with them.
“I want what she wants. Whatever she thinks is best for her will be fine by us,” Celeste Nurse said.
The suspect, who can’t be named as that would identify the girl, had reportedly had a series of miscarriages before allegedly stealing Zephany from her mother at Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town three days after her birth in April 1997.
She was arrested last week after an astonishing coincidence saw the stolen girl attending the same high school as one of her biological sisters.
Without knowing it, the Nurse family had been living within a couple of kilometers of their kidnapped daughter.
“All the time she has been right under my nose. It was seriously heartbreaking,” the father said.
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