The bloodstained pillow, a red school jacket hung in the cupboard, and a school bag placed outside the Waldrop were the smoking gun.
According to Dailysun, this is the e evidence that led to the arrest of Tiffany Meek, the mum who’s now accused of murdering her only son, Jayden-Lee.
The 31-year-old mum broke her silence in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 18 July, insisting through her lawyer Noven Naidoo that she is being framed and had no hand in her son’s tragic death. In an affidavit read in court, she stated she intends to plead not guilty.
She made her court appearance on Monday, 21 July, as her bail application continued.
The case against Meek deepened when Sergeant Nceba Diko, the investigating officer, testified that Jayden was reported missing around 8pm on the night of his disappearance.
Earlier that day, a security guard stationed at Swazi’s residence said he saw a light-skinned boy in a red jacket being dropped off by a school transport van around 4pm.
He told police he opened the gate for the child, who then entered the building. However, while police interviewed the guard, Meek reportedly interjected, accusing him of lying.
He further told the court that the police later visited the home of another child who is usually dropped off after Jayden. That child confirmed he helped Jayden out of the school transport and saw him walk toward the gate before he and the driver left.
According to Diko, police searched the area for hours without success. Around midnight, they returned to Swazi’s residence and informed the family that an investigating officer would continue the search the next day. The family then left to spend the night in Florida at Jayden’s grandmother’s house.
The court heard that Meek went back to her unit at around 4am, after spending the night at her mother’s place in Florida. She reportedly left her unit at 5.30am and that’s when Jayden’s body was shortly discovered.
CCTV footage and witness statements later confirmed that Meek returned to the flat alone at approximately 4am.
Diko further said that when the boy was found, he was not moving, the head was cold and showed no signs of life. A blanket was placed over him as emergency services were called.
Crime scene investigators from Krugersdorp were dispatched. A sniffer dog brought to the scene reacted positively to a white pillow stained with what appeared to be blood.
More blood was found on the bed’s mattress. Forensic teams collected samples, and lab results later confirmed that the blood matched Jayden’s DNA.
“During the documentation of the scene, the dog reacted positively to fluid on a white pillow in the bedroom, which appeared to be blood,” said Diko.
“In the second bedroom, there was no reaction. The pillow was taken for DNA analysis to compare with the deceased’s control sample.”
Jayden-Lee’s school bag and books were also photographed. Meek’s defence lawyer, Noven Naidoo, confirmed her son’s bag was in the photo shown to her, which bore a date stamp.
His red school jacket and shoes were found in a cupboard and photographed for evidence.
Magistrate Annelin Africa noted the photographs corresponded with a statement made by a security guard who had said the boy was last seen wearing a red Royal College school jacket.
The matter was postponed to Tuesday, 22 July for the IO to continue giving his statement.
