The man accused of raping and strangling his friend’s two-year-old daughter to death allegedly fed her a bottle of milk before ending her life.
This emerged from court papers during Willie Simons’s pre-trial proceedings on Friday at the Cape High Court.
The matter was postponed to 29 August for Simons’ Legal Aid lawyer to come on board.
Zaakierah Hendricks of Manenberg was killed on 27 February 2016.
Simons was only charged this year after the DNA of 14 men who lived on the property where he had Zaakierah, in Vester Street, Manenberg, were tested.
Zaakierah’s mother, Zayda Hendricks, 24, previously told the Daily Voice she had left the child in Simons’ care as she and his girlfriend went to Club Cameo in Heideveld.
She said she trusted him because he was her friend and he also coached soccer players in the community.
In court papers, it was revealed that Simons allegedly fed Zaakierah a bottle before raping and strangling her.
“The accused took the deceased to Felicia’s Wendy house on the premises to lay her down to sleep,” the indictment read.
“The accused had the key to Felicia’s Wendy house. The last time the deceased was seen alive was when the accused gave her bottle.
“The deceased’s mother returned the next morning, 28 February 2016. She found the deceased on Felicia’s bed under a blanket.
“The post-mortem examination revealed the deceased died due to strangulation and had a gaping anus with pubic hair protruding from it.”
The State said it had damning DNA evidence against Simons.