A South African preschool teacher who raped and drowned her 4-year-old stepdaughter has asked a Johannesburg court for mercy as judges weigh the sentence for the child's killing.
Amber-Lee Hughes, 26, was convicted in August 2025 of premeditated murder and rape in the death of her stepdaughter and pupil, 4-year-old Nada-Jane Challita, at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Prosecutors said the crime took place in January 2023 while the girl was in Hughes' care at home after her father left for a job interview.
Hughes has admitted that she drowned the child in a bathtub after an argument with the girl's father over his alleged infidelity, according to People. In court this week, she also acknowledged that she was alone with the child in the hours before her death, a key factor in the rape conviction after a pathologist found fresh genital injuries caused shortly before the drowning.
During her plea for leniency in the High Court, Hughes claimed she believed the girl was "better off dead" than living with her father, and said she thought killing the child was a way to "save" her from alleged neglect.
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She told the court she now regrets her actions and thinks about the killing "nearly every day" while in custody. Hughes also cited long‑standing mental health problems, including diagnoses of Borderline Personality Disorder, bipolar disorder, post‑traumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder, and said she had struggled to afford regular treatment and medication, the National Prosecuting Authority reported.
The National Prosecuting Authority has argued that her personal history and mental health do not excuse the level of violence used against the child.
Prosecutors questioned why alleged concerns about the girl's home life should lessen the sentence when Hughes has admitted to deliberately drowning her. Presiding Judge Richard Makhabela remarked that he did not see how such claims were relevant to sentencing, given her admissions.
Hughes initially pleaded not guilty to rape and murder and only later made further admissions, telling the court she had considered pleading guilty to murder alone on legal advice. Sentencing arguments are set to continue, and no date for the final decision has yet been announced, as per the Dailymail.
