The mother of slain 12-year-old Michaela Williams of New Horizon has opened up for the first time about the murder, saying she does not want her daughter’s killer to be given any special treatment during the national lockdown.
Beatrice Adams, 41, left the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court disappointed on Tuesday after she was barred from attending court proceedings.
Two weeks ago, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola ordered that only first appearances and bail applications be held in court while those in custody would be informed via Audio Visual Remand (AVR) on the progress of their cases.
Michaela’s alleged killer, a 48-year-old male, may not be identified in the media until an identity parade is completed.
The case was postponed to June 3 for further investigation.
Michaela disappeared on January 7 while playing in front of her home.
During the early hours of January 9, the suspect allegedly admitted to killing the child and led cops to her body in 9th Avenue in Schaapkraal.
The same man was previously sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the rape and attempted murder of an eight-year-old girl who was lured from her home in Hyde Park to the Khayelitsha Cemetery.
The little girl pretended to be dead after being stabbed in the heart and managed to crawl to safety hours later.
He was granted parole nearly two years ago.
On Tuesday, Beatrice spoke out publicly for the first time since her daughter’s brutal murder.
She says while the suspect is being fed and cared for in jail, she’s left to suffer.
HEARTACHE: Beatrice Adams wants justice for her daughter
“I feel very disappointed because he is being treated as the important person, and even his identity is being protected,” she says.
“I want to know why it is being postponed for further investigation when he was the one who pointed out where he put the body, what more must still be investigated?”
The mother says just walking to her front gate is heartbreaking because that is the last place where Michaela played.
“I have also never visited the crime scene, I cannot bring myself yet to go there. I have never read a news article. I am not even sure what happened to my child,” she says.
She says her two-year-old daughter keeps calling Michaela’s name and wants to watch videos of her all the time.
“Counselling has been offered, but what will that do? It won’t stop this heartache. I can talk to thousands of people, it won’t change this empty space.”