Now retired investigator, Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Barkhuizen, the lead detective who successfully arrested Lavona Solomon for the kidnapping of Zephany Nurse in 1997, said Solomon’s sentence was too lenient.
Also read: Zephany Nurse kidnapper due to be released on parole
He expressed this sentiment as Solomon was released from prison on strict parole conditions on 18 August.
Zephany, who grew up under the name Miche Solomon, was kidnapped by Solomon on 30 April 1997, when she was only three days old, from a ward at Groote Schuur Hospital while her mother was asleep.
For 17 years, Zephany’s biological parents, Celeste and Morne Nurse, searched for their daughter. The search finally came to an end when the couple’s younger daughter, Cassidy Nurse, enrolled at the same school as Zephany, and the girl’s peers commented on their striking resemblance.
Cassidy told her father, Morné Nurse, about the resemblance she shared with a fellow student at school; he then arranged to take the two girls for a meal and was just as taken aback at their likeness.
After further investigation and DNA tests were conducted, Zephany’s true identity was revealed.
Solomon was arrested on February 25, 2015, and sentenced to a 14-year prison term for the kidnapping of Zephany Nurse by Judge President John Hlophe of the Cape Town High Court. Hlophe suspended four years of this sentence on the condition that she refrain from committing a similar offence.
Also read: Zephany Nurse case update: accused baby kidnapper to make a bid for parole
Solomon claimed she had legally adopted Zephany from a woman she called Sylvia. The child was delivered to her at Wynberg Train Station.
As reported by Times LIVE, the spokesperson for correctional services, Candice van Reenen, stated that Solomon will undergo intensive parole supervision. Her mobility will be confined to the specific magisterial district, and she is not permitted to leave without prior authorisation. Furthermore, Solomon is restricted from changing her residence without official consent, prohibited from the consumption of alcohol or drugs and required to refrain from any criminal activity.
She is also prohibited from engaging with the media.
Barkhuizen said he endured countless sleepless nights during the investigation and described the 17-year search for Zephany as an emotional rollercoaster for the Nurse family.
‘I only got involved about five years before we solved the case,’ he said.
‘Someone phoned the father one night and tried to extort money from him. It turned out it was his mother-in-law’s neighbour. The mother told the story to this lady and she thought she could make a quick buck. She phoned him in the middle of the night. Later, when we identified her, she alleged that she was drunk. She was convicted of attempted extortion.’
Barkhuizen said the family was in constant contact, encouraging him to pursue various leads. He explored all avenues, even reaching out to schools to enquire if a child matching Zephany’s description was enrolled.
‘You will be shocked to learn how many children go missing and are never recovered again,’ he told TimesLIVE Premium.
‘What led to solving the case is that the sister was at Zwaanswyk High School. Children at school started joking saying, “You two could be sisters, you look like one another,” and she mentioned it to her father, and he looked into it, and we followed up.’
Fortunately, the headmaster was very accommodating. Each child has a file with a picture at the school. He said, ‘I am not allowed to show you this file, but I will leave it open and go to the toilet.’
Solomon claimed that the child was born at a mobile maternity clinic in Retreat, Cape Town, but when Barkhuizen verified this information with the maternity clinic, it was established that Solomon had lied.
‘The nurses were shocked that the child was still missing and allowed me to go through the ‘birth book’. The birth register was completed every time a child was born, and there was no record of this child.’
‘We got the Department of Social Development on board, and on the morning of the recovery, we went to two places simultaneously.’
‘I went to arrest her at her home and I had a team that went to the school with social workers to go and collect her [Zephany] and gently say, “We think you are this missing child.” We had done a lot of work in this case, even if I have to compliment myself. We had already obtained blood samples from the mother and the father, but the police told us it would take six weeks to get the results.’
‘And then we found out from one of the ladies there was a private laboratory that operated from Tygerberg Hospital and the laboratory said, “We can do this within 24 hours for you”‘.
‘The district surgeon got the sample from the child and one of the social workers took her home that evening. The next morning the guys from the laboratory called me and said, “This is your child, the DNA matched”.’
Barkhuizen organised a reunion for Zephany and her biological parents the very next day.
He added, ‘Everybody was in tears. That was it, case solved. One thing always struck me. Whenever I interacted with the family, the mother always said, “Barkhuizen, I am praying for you every night and I believe you will find my child.” It was something that always haunted me. Every time I left there, I felt guilty. I asked myself, “How am I going to get this child?” She had so much faith in me.’
Barkhuizen said, ‘She should have gone to prison for longer.’
‘If you look at all the anguish these poor parents have gone through, I would not wish this on anyone.’
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Picture: Twitter