Amber Lee Hughes says she believed killing Nada Jane Challita was attempt to save her from life of neglect

Self-confessed child killer Amber Lee Hughes says she believed murdering four-year-old Nada Jane Challita was an attempt to save her from what she described as a life of neglect.

Wednesday marked the third day of sentencing proceedings at the Johannesburg High Court, where Hughes presented her evidence in mitigation of sentence.

The 26-year-old is charged with the rape and murder of the four-year-old, who was killed in a Glenvista apartment while in Hughes’ care on 23 January 2023.

In a lengthy account, Hughes detailed the events leading up to the child’s death.

“At that moment, I thought that the only possible way out of everything was to take Nada’s life and my own. I felt like Nada wouldn’t have a future without me. She would be neglected and she wouldn’t progress without me. I thought the only way to save Nada was by taking her life.”

Hughes told the court that the actions of her former partner, Elie Challita, pushed her to commit the crime.

“He made me feel stupid. Then he confessed to trying to sleep with prostitutes. He apologised a few times, but he would also become aggressive throughout the day because of how often I was contacting him.”

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She further alleged that Challita’s behaviour made her feel threatened and that she feared leaving the child in his care.

“Before I came into the picture, she was being completely neglected. I took care of Nada like she was my own child. She progressed so much she even stopped sucking her thumb.

However, the State argued that the child’s living conditions were irrelevant to sentence mitigation.

Prosecutor Rolene Barnard questioned the relevance of this line of testimony, a concern echoed by Judge Richard Makhabela.

“Why is it relevant for sentence mitigation, the living conditions of the child? She didn’t protect the child. What is the relevance? We are dealing with mitigation after she admitted drowning the child.”

Judge Makhabela added that he did not see how testimony about alleged neglect related to the mitigation process.

“Yet now she’s standing here and I must hear evidence about the horrible conditions with him, even the living conditions of the same child that she admitted drowning and we’re dealing with evidence in mitigation here. I don’t see the relevance.”

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As proceedings continued, Hughes admitted she should have left the relationship long before it escalated.

The court heard that the relationship was allegedly marked by infidelity and violent disputes, with Hughes claiming the pair had exchanged death threats. She also accused Challita of forcing her to terminate a three-month pregnancy, alleging he told her she was unfit to be a mother.

“I regret what happened that day. I think about it nearly every day while I’ve been incarcerated. I miss her, and I know she didn’t deserve to go like that. At the time, I thought it was her best option. Now I know I should have left Elie a long time ago.”

She added, “I’m not blaming Elie for what happened that day. I’m sorry to Nada. But deep down, I know Elie drove me to do what I did.”