The mother of slain toddler Orderick Lucas dropped her head in shame yesterday as she admitted to blowing smoke from a mandrax pipe into his face to put him to sleep.
Mom Davedine Lucas, 29, returned to the witness stand in the Western Cape High Court for a second round of cross-examination as the defence attorney for alleged child killer Melvin Vokwyn continued to poke holes in her testimony given on Monday.
The body of the one-year-old boy was found dumped in a drain in Kleinvlei a week after he had gone missing in March 2019.
In her testimony, Davedine admitted to being friends with the man accused of killing her child, saying they often smoked tik and mandrax together.
While the state has not indicated what evidence they have against Volkwyn, other than that he was allegedly the last person to look after Orderick before he went missing, his attorney has painted a sickening picture of child abuse and neglect using medical records.
On Tuesday, defence attorney Susan Kuun highlighted various illnesses suffered by the toddler which included pneumonia, septic sores on his head and nose, ulcers on his genitals and anus, and that he suffered malnutrition and weight loss.
On Wednesday, Kuun told the court that her client admitted to smoking drugs with Davedine.
“He said you did smoke mandrax and tik together and he said when you visited him, you would also blow mandrax into Orderick’s face because you said this will help him go to sleep.”
“Korrek, ja,” Davedine responded before dropping her head and nervously adjusting her black face mask.
Volkwyn gave her a blank stare throughout proceedings.
In a twist, Davedine also told the court that despite Orderick being removed from her care and placed with her mother after he suffered a broken arm three months prior to his death, on the night she last saw her child, it was her mother Cornelia Scheepers who chased her and Orderick away.
She claimed on 24 March, Orderick had a small bruise caused when his head hit a light switch, and when Cornelia saw the bruise they argued.
She says her mother chased her away, as the child always had some sort of bruising when he arrived at his ouma’s house.
According to Davedine, her mother also wanted R400 each Sunday to look after her three children and often argued with her and the children’s father when they did not pay the full amount.
The trial continues.
monique.duval@inl.co.za