Delayed Baby Nikita murder trial returns to court today

The long-delayed murder trial of the parents accused of killing four-year-old ‘Baby Nikita’ is set to resume on 12 October, after yet another postponement last week.

The case, which has gripped Eldorado Park since the toddler’s death in August 2025, was meant to begin at the Johannesburg High Court on 5 October according to Times Live. Prosecutor advocate Sharlene Mack told the court she had only recently taken over the matter from the previous state advocate, who had been hospitalised, and was not yet ready to proceed. She said several witnesses were travelling to court, while one key witness was still in the Eastern Cape.

Presiding judge William Karam said the postponement was ‘inevitable’, noting that the court was already working through lengthy cases carried over from the previous term. Mack suggested the week’s delay to check whether another court might be able to accommodate the trial.

Nikita’s father faces charges of murder, rape, compelled rape, child abuse and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Her mother faces charges of failing to report the abuse, along with related offences. Both have remained in custody since their arrest.

The toddler died at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital after she was found with severe injuries in the family’s Eldorado Park shack, allegedly after neighbours reported hearing distressing sounds from the home. Her death sparked community outrage and renewed conversations around child abuse and domestic violence in the area.

The case has now been postponed multiple times since the couple’s arrest in August 2025.