Alleged child killer Melvin Volkwyn stunned the Western Cape High Court on Monday when he claimed he was tortured by cops during the search for slain toddler Orderick Lucas.
Taking the witness stand for the first time, Volkwyn denied killing Orderick and told the court how officers allegedly waterboarded him, pepper-sprayed him in his face and bashed his head until he bled.
Orderick 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 one street away from his ouma’s home and Volkwyn was arrested and charged with his murder following claims by Davedine that he was the last person to care for the boy.
Volkwyn confirmed that he was friends with Davedine and often smoked tik and Mandrax with her.
He said Davedine neglected her child, who was always sick and dirty, and who would often wear the same vuil klere for several days.
Volkwyn told the court that he often looked after Orderick when Davedine went to prostitute herself, and he also labelled her a skelm.
“Davedine used to always ask me to look after him when she had to go see someone or prostitute herself,” he testified.
He maintained that on the Monday after Davedine was attacked by residents for allegedly stealing a cellphone, she came to him to collect the child, who had slept at his salon.
He says he wrapped the tot in a plastic sakkie as he did not have nappies for him.
He claimed that Davedine would leave her child at the salon when she went out to skarrel.
He then alleged that detectives on the case colluded with state witnesses to give false statements.
The testimony of Jurina Nel, who visited Volkwyn on the day he gave Orderick to his mother, came into question.
Nel told the court she had not seen Orderick sleeping in the salon, but Volkwyn claimed she was lying: “She phoned me when I was in the cells and said she didn’t want to get involved, but the detectives told her what to say. She saw Orderick sleeping there.”
He said on the day the community discovered Orderick was missing, he accompanied Davedine to the Kleinvlei Police Station where he says cops laughed at them when they said the child was missing.
“They hit me and gave Davedine a paar klappe. The police officers hit me and kept asking ‘where is the child?’
“I told them I don't know. They took a teargas canister and hit me over the head until I was bleeding, they sprayed teargas in my eyes and I couldn’t see, then they threw me over in the chair and put a bag over my head and threw water on me,” he said, sobbing in the dock.
He says cops released him into his father's care and several days later he was arrested and charged with Orderick’s murder.
While in custody, detectives informed him the body had been found.
In the witness stand, he denied killing Orderick: “I would never hurt Orderick, I loved him very much.”