A foster mother arrested for murdering a nine-month-old baby has opted to remain behind bars, and members of her family could soon follow her.
Tears flowed at Muizenberg Magistrates’ Court last week as the family of baby Caswell Frans gathered for the bail hearing of Priscilla Morris.
The 40-year-old woman made her third appearance last week after being arrested earlier this month for murdering the baby boy and burying him in a shallow grave.
His tiny body was discovered on a field in Vrygrond after Priscilla’s sister piemped her to police.
Since the child’s death, it has been revealed that the infant had allegedly been tortured for six months; he had been repeatedly beaten, choked and starved.
The department of social development has also launched an investigation after the child’s biological family revealed that social workers were made aware of the abuse and allegedly failed to take action against Priscilla.
Standing in the dock wearing a white dress, Priscilla told the Magistrate that she was abandoning her bail application at this stage as the state prosecutor informed the court that there may be more arrests for the murder.
He stated that they were waiting for the decision from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether or not to charge members of Priscilla’s family.
Outside court, oupa Cashwell, 52, told the Daily Voice that he had been left traumatised after viewing the child’s body at the mortuary.
“They only showed us his face and we could see the stitches on his cheek and mouth.
“We are aware that he had burn marks on his mouth and we were told that Priscilla fed him meat straight from a braai and that burnt him.
“He was such a sight, we have decided that we will have a closed coffin.
“He will be laid to rest this week.
“We are happy she is not going ahead with the bail application.”
Court proceedings were delayed on Wednesday due to the lack of available Legal Aid lawyers, but on Thursday the woman confirmed she would not be applying for bail.
Oupa Caswel, 52, says while they are happy she was sent to prison, the festive season remained a difficult time for them as they come to terms with the cruel manner in which the child was killed.