After being held in custody for almost three years, alleged child murderer Melvin Volkwyn will finally learn his fate next month.
Final arguments in the Orderick Lucas murder trial were handed in at the Western Cape High Court yesterday.
The 22-month-old was last seen on 24 March 2019 but it was only four days later when his mother, Davedine, discovered he was missing.
On 2 April 2019, his tiny body was discovered in a drain a street away from his ouma’s home and Volkwyn was charged with his murder.
This follows claims by Davedine that he was the last person to care for the boy.
Volkwyn has denied this throughout the trial, claiming he handed the child back to her.
During the explosive trial, a sickening tale of abuse and neglect was revealed where Davedine’s drug abuse came under the spotlight.
Several witnesses, including medical professionals, described various illnesses that the little boy suffered throughout his short life including pneumonia, septic sores on his head and nose, ulcers on his genitals and anus, and he was also malnourished.
In shocking testimony, Davedine even admitted that she blew Mandrax smoke into the tot’s face to keep him calm because he was “lastig”.
In his heads of argument, state prosecutor Mornay Julius, called on Judge Nolundi Nyati to find Volkwyn guilty of the murder.
“When one considers all the evidence in this case, it is highly improbable and not true that the accused gave the deceased back to Davedine.
“The only logical conclusion is that he did something to the deceased person which caused him to die. And that he then hid the body of the deceased in a stormwater drain.”
But Defense attorney Susan Kuun poked holes in the state’s case saying it was all circumstantial evidence.
She said while witnesses corroborated Davedine’s version of events, others had done the same for Volkwyn.
She said Orderick’s dad Doukoumancia Kounkou Dziendelet and ouma Cornelia Scheepers had an interest in backing Davedine’s testimony as they were in violation of a court order and did not want to get into trouble.
This after the court removed Orderick from his parents and placed him into Cornelia’s care.
Kuun said the results of the post-mortem indicated that the cause of death was undetermined and that the state had not proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“It still has to be proven that the accused caused the death of Orderick,” she said.
The matter was postponed to 21 July when judgement will be handed down.