The man accused of kidnapping one-year-old Orderick Lucas of Eerste River will now face an additional charge of murder.
Melvin Volkwyn, 42, became emotional in the dock on Tuesday as murder was added to charges of kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
In tears, he also told the court that he is being raped every day in jail.
He asked the court, through his Legal Aid attorney, to be moved away from other prisoners at Goodwood Correctional Facility, as he was “being forced to have sex and give blowjobs to his cellmates and their friends”.
Volkwyn was remanded into custody at the Mfuleni Police Station holding cells and is back in the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court on Friday for a bail application.
Little Orderick disappeared on 24 March, but was only reported missing four days later.
His mother, Davideen Lucas, 28, who is a self-confessed drug addict, said she was beaten up for allegedly stealing a
cellphone.
She planned to go to the hospital the next day for treatment and asked her friend, Volkwyn, to look after her child.
But when she came to collect the boy the next day, Volkwyn told her he had already given the child back to her.
Volkwyn allegedly also told Orderick’s father that the boy was safe with his ouma, Cornelia Scheepers.
Davideen said she wasn’t worried as she thought her son was safe.
VICTIM: Orderick Lucas, 1
When she visited her mother the Thursday, she discovered her child was missing and immediately went to the police.
Four days later, Orderick’s naked body was found in a drain metres from Cornelia’s home in Witterbol Street by a group of children who were trying to retrieve their ball.
Neither Davideen nor Cornelia were in court.
Speaking to the Daily Voice on Thursday, Cornelia said they were shocked to hear a murder charge was added.
“We will be in court from now on. We thought it was a bail application, but then heard that he is being charged with murdering
my grandson,” says the ouma.
“Davideen has fits of sadness and we just cry, but we hope when the forensic tests come back, that we have answers. We want to know how Mel killed him.”
She says Davideen has decided to stop using drugs and was “doing much better”.
Orderick’s funeral is on Saturday at 8am at his ouma’s house, then proceeds to a hall in Melton Rose.