Four miscarriages 'due to beatings'

Melice Jacobs, accused of murder and concealment of birth after dead babies were found in freezers at her Mthatha home, yesterday told the court the babies were hers.

She had kept the bodies for up to five years, she said, after having miscarriages from beatings by her longtime boyfriend, who is now dead.

Jacobs, 30, told the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court that she had endured years of abuse and her miscarriages were caused by the severity of the beatings.

She said she would plead not guilty to the charges.

“They are my blood and flesh. They are part of me and I would not like to let go of them. The knowledge that they were there made me feel good,” she said.

Jacobs’ evidence suggested that she conceived seven times over 10 years. Three of the children – aged five, seven and 10 – are alive. She claimed to have had miscarriages in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

In court there was talk of only four miscarriages and four babies, but police had earlier reported that four babies, one foetus and three placentas had been found at the New Brighton home.

In testimony yesterday, Jacobs said: “He would punch me and kick me on the ribs and and my back and head. This had been going on for many, many years. It started shortly after I gave birth to my first-born child, a son, in 2004.

“I have never told anyone of it except his mother and grandmother. It is because of the beatings that I had these miscarriages, I never killed them,” said Jacobs.

She said she never reported the abuse to the police or to her own parents.

“He even beat me in full view of our children. At times, the little ones would try to hug me to protect me but he would take them away forcefully and continue with the beating.”

Jacobs said her boyfriend, who was buried a few weeks ago, would beat her when he was drunk.

Despite the abusive relationship, Jacobs said she loved her boyfriend of 13 years, who died in her arms on February 2.

She asked to be granted bail to allow her and her children time to mourn their father and to celebrate her youngest son, who turned five yesterday.

Jacobs cried when she spoke of trauma she suffered and why she kept the babies in the freezers.

Court proceedings were postponed twice during her two hours in the dock.

Jacobs told the court that she was 18 when she dropped out of school and gave birth to a son on January 28 2004.

“Soon after the birth of my son, the abuse started and became more severe as years went by.”

Jacobs said she could not report her boyfriend to police because he threatened to expose her about keeping the babies in the freezer.

“I was scared.”

Jacobs asked that the bodies be returned to her so that she could cremate them.

Prosecutor Luthando Feni read out the results of the postmortems, saying that two of the babies were 35 to 36 weeks old, another was 21 weeks old and another 32 weeks old.

“One of them died of strangulation, two died of hypothermia and another one was an abortion,” Feni told the court.

Jacobs’ lawyer, Mpumelelo Notununu, asked people not to vilify his client and instead be sympathetic towards her and assist her.

“We are dealing here with a broken little woman, who was in a broken relationship and who has been a victim of abuse for many, many years.

“Where are the good women of this country to protect her?

“People should not be saying ‘no bail’ and calling her bad names like ‘witch’, but protecting her.”

Notununu said his client had travelled from Johannesburg to Mthatha knowing she would be arrested and yet did not flee.

The state opposed bail.

Feni said Jacobs was a liar and in her evidence she did not want to take responsibility, so she shifted the blame onto her late boyfriend.

Magistrate Nompumelelo Bango reserved judgment for March 12.

Unlike her previous court appearances, there were a number people who came out in support of Jacobs.