Nursery teacher drowned her partner's four-year-old daughter in sickening attack

A nursery teacher murdered her partner's four-year-old daughter.

Amber Lee Hughes suspected Elie Challita was cheating on her and a court heard she sent him a message vowing to "burn his heart". When Mr Challita went for a job interview, his daughter Nada-Jane Challita was in Hughes' care and the woman - a nursery nurse - drowned the defenceless child.

A court heard Hughes forced Nada-Jane's head underwater in the bathtub by sitting on her as she fought to escape. She this week admitted the murder charge but denies a separate count of the rape of Nada-Jane, which prosecutors allege happened in the days before the youngster's murder. Hughes had told Johannesburg High Court in South Africa: "I persist with the denial that I have raped the deceased."

When Hughes was left alone with Nada-Jane on January 23, 2023, the court heard she sent her partner a chilling message which read: "You broke my heart. I'm going to burn yours. How could you do that to me?" The nursery teacher then filled the bathtub with cold water and drowned Nada-Jane.

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The attack happened around two years into the couple's relationship, during which time Hughes had moved into the family home in Johannesburg. However, the relationship during this period was "marked by frequent altercations," the court was told. Phindi Mjonondwane, prosecuting, alleged it culminated in the murder as Hughes became more and more jealous and angry.

Hughes had denied the killing and, although she has now confessed to murdering the child, she still denies the rape charge. Hughes told the court: "I admit that I suffered from borderline personality disorder at the time of the incident, but was aware of what I was doing on that day.

"The event was triggered by the argument I had with the deceased's father concerning his infidelity, and the final trigger was when he told me that I should stop bombarding him. I admit that after the deceased became unresponsive, I left her in the bathtub with the cold water tap still running."

The yoyng defendant also told the court about how she tried to kill herself. After the hearing, Nada-Jane's father said he was relieved that the truth was starting to emerge. He said: "Now I know, legally, she killed my child. I'm now waiting to find out how long she tortured her before she killed her."

The case has been adjourned to Thursday August 7, when the court will hear arguments concerning the rape charge.