2018-04-23Staff Report 2 Roland Routh Windhoek-Zenobia Seas, who is said to have killed her biological daughter in Swakopmund and then tried to burn her car with the body of the girl inside it, is to undergo mental observation by both a State and private psychiatrist to determine whether she is fit to stand trial. The observation would further determine if she is criminally liable for her actions. High Court Judge Christi Liebenberg made the order last week during a scheduled pre-trial appearance by Seas in the Windhoek High Court following an application by her legal aid lawyer Mpokiseng Dube. Deputy Prosecutor-General, Advocate Antonia Verhoef, did not oppose the application and instead asked the court to order two psychiatric evaluations, one by a State psychiatrist and one by a private psychiatrist. Judge Liebenberg ordered that local psychiatrist, Reinhardt Sieberhagen, must evaluate Seas to determine her ability to understand court proceedings and her ability to put up a proper defence. Seas allegedly suffocated three-year old Ava Owoses on the beach near Mile 108 on September 26, 2016 before trying to commit suicide by burning herself and the toddler’s body in her car. She was discovered after her mobile phone was tracked to the scene. She faces a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, and defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. Seas was held in Walvis Bay previously and will now be transferred to the Klein Windhoek Police Station as the Windhoek Correctional Service trial-awaiting section does not cater for female inmates. According to the indictment, Seas picked up her daughter from a day-care facility in Mondesa in Swakopmund and drove with her to the area of “Blare” in Henties Bay where she killed the child by smothering or suffocating her. The toddler died on the scene due to asphyxia. She then contacted various witnesses informing them that she killed the deceased, the indictment reads. It is further stated that Seas then “set alight the deceased’s blanket and attempted to set alight the motor vehicle with the deceased inside in an attempt to frustrate or interfere with police investigations, conceal the death of the deceased and protect her from being prosecuted for a crime” . 2018-04-23Staff Report 2
