POPPIE
VAN DER MERWE
Poppie was born on 9 August 2013
It is hard to imagine a more horrific life than the one led by this beautiful child and her siblings. Terrorised by their mother and stepfather, they were screamed at for soiling their beds and sundry 'misdemeanours'. Evidence given at the trial by the family's neighbour shows the depths that Poppie's mother and stepfather had sunk to in their treatment of the children. Accusing the two toddlers of "wanting to f*** each other" their stepfather turned the garden hose on Poppie and her brother one freezing cold winter's day, ignoring the children's pleas for him to stop.
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Tellingly, amongst Poppie's many injuries were swelling and bruising to her genitals. Someone was sexually abusing the little girl, but it wasn't her brother. When the neighbour reported his fears to social services, the family quickly moved out of town. And their crimes only caught up with them when their cruelty led to Poppie's death. Kobus and Louisa Koekemoer had beaten the little girl black and blue, broken her bones, and she died from a head injury following an assault by one of her 'caregivers'.
Poppie was murdered on 13 October 2016 at the age of 3. Sentencing her mother and stepfather to life in prison, Judge Bert Bam described the pair as 'inherently evil'.
Thank you to Caroline for alerting me to Poppie's story.
Together we can raise awareness - are you with me?
JESSICA JACKSON