The traumatised mother of Courtney Pieters returned to the stand in the Western Cape High Court today to testify against her murderer.
Pieters, who broke down on the stand on Monday, told the court that after approaching the police, she went searching for Courtney again.
After searching her home, she searched as far as Goodwood and Ruyterwacht with the assistance of members of the community. The search continued for nine days.
Juanita Pieters said she was not sure Saunders partook of that search. “I’m not sure where Mortimer was at that stage; whether he searched with us or not,” she said.
On 13 May, the day Courtney’s body was found, her mother said, “I was at home. Aaron and I were fetched at home and taken to the police station. We arrived. A policeman said a body was found but the parents can’t go.
“We couldn’t go to where the body was found because they weren’t sure if the body was Courtney’s. Aaron and I stayed at the police station. We couldn’t do anything else. We went straight home after that.”
On the next day, Juanita Pieters said, “Captain Taylor fetched Aaron, myself and Michael Petersen at home. We had to go for DNA again. We got to the police station. Cpt Taylor asked that I call Mortimer Saunders to come to the police station. I phoned him. He said he’s in a taxi and he’s about to get into another taxi. He didn’t say where he was.
“Captain Taylor asked me to make the call because I had his number on my phone. I had to tell him that Cpt Taylor said he must come down to the police station.
“Mortimer Saunders asked me, ‘Netta, what did they say? Who is (did) it?’
“I called him again because he didn’t pitch. He said he’s en route to the police station. He’s on the road leading to the police station. Aaron and I walked to the corner to see if he was approaching. He wasn’t there yet. “
“I said don’t worry about what they’re saying, you just come to the police station. We’ll talk about what they said, later. He never pitched to the police station (that day). Captain Taylor then took us back home. “
When presented with a photo of Saunders as a suspect in the killing of her daughter, Juanita Pieters said,
“I was shocked when I saw this photo. I lied to Captain Taylor and said I don’t know this man. I didn’t want to believe that it was Mortimer Saunders. As we’ve come to know Morty, he was a decent man.
“Morty was a quiet person. Morty loved children and he really loved Courtney.”
Juanita Pieters said she had identified Courtney’s body alongside Courtney’s father, Aaron Fourie.
On Monday, Mortimer Saunders admitted to poisoning the three-year-old but denied r@ping her.
#MortimerSaunders is back in the Western Cape High Court for the resumption of his trial for the murder of three-year-old Courtney Pieters pic.twitter.com/hToEHBiuf4
— Leigh-Anne Jansen (@LA_JANSEN) May 29, 2018
However, he did confess to having s-e-x with her dead body.
On Monday, Juanita Pieters broke down on the stand after hearing gruesome details of the murder.
Courtney Pieters was found in a shallow grave in May last year, days after she was reported missing.
Close family friend Saunders was involved in the search party that subsequently looked for her.
Source:eNCA
