The parents of slain toddler Orderick Lucas have denied seeing the child a day after he allegedly went missing, despite two witnesses claiming he was with them.
Davedine Lucas and her boyfriend Doukoumancia Kounkou Dziendelet, aka Safran, returned to the Western Cape High Court yesterday amid calls for them to respond to claims made by their neighbours that Davedine was seen with Orderick after his disappearance.
This comes after social workers indicated that they would be charging both Davedine and her mother Cornelia Scheepers with child neglect prior to the 22-month-old’s death.
Orderick was last seen on 24 March 2019, but it was only four days later when Davedine discovered he was missing and reported it to the police.
On 2 April 2019, his tiny body was discovered in a drain a street away from his ouma’s home and Davedine’s friend, Melvin Volkwyn, was charged with his murder.
This follows claims by Davedine that he was the last person to care for the boy.
Last week, mother and daughter, Betty Cloete and Locrisia Goliath, took to the stand and told the court that they both saw Orderick with Davedine at a spaza shop on 25 March, buying a kimbie for the tot.
The duo said they had tried to tell police what they had seen, but were not helped at Kleinvlei Police Station.
Taking the stand again yesterday, Davedine recalled everything she did on 25 March and claimed that she returned home at 8pm that night and fell asleep.
Questioned by defence attorney Susan Kuun, the mother of five became defensive when asked if she ever visited the spaza shop mentioned by Cloete.
“Why would I go to the shop in that street if there is a shop closer in the street where I live?” she asked.
Questioned further, she then admitted that she did, in fact, visit the shop occasionally.
She then denied seeing Orderick on 25 March and questioned why Cloete and Goliath never reported this to the police.
“I wasn’t there on that night and I did not see Orderick,” said Davedine.
“I don’t know why they would come here to tell lies. But if they say they saw me, they should have gone to the police that time already.”
Safran told the court he was at home on the night of 25 March and denied seeing his son.
The state and defence have now closed their cases and the trial was postponed to 21 June for final arguments.