Chevonne Rusch was taken from this world at two-years-old by her mother and her boyfriend in a house of horrors where physical abuse and drug use went hand in hand in a vicious cycle. Chevonne’s short life was one of abandonment and abuse at the hands of Stefan van Niekerk and Rochelle Botha that would ultimately lead to her being beaten to death.
“It is easy to imagine Chevonne as a normal two-and-a-half-year-old, running, climbing and jumping – exploring her world. She had beautiful blue eyes and blond hair. At that age, she was supposed to be adding to her vocabulary to form three to four word sentences – communicating more clearly every day. But we need to imagine Chevonne’s actual reality for a moment. Imagine her with 49 wounds and bruises all over her head, face, tummy, lower back, legs and feet. Imagine her running, not for fun, but in fear. Instead of climbing and jumping she was probably cowering and hiding, shielding her bruised body from the blows that kept coming. Try to imagine the dominant words in her vocabulary: Probably “Nee!”, “Stop!”, “Mamma!” and “Eina!” Imagine her with head injuries so severe that it caused immense pressure to build up in her brain leading to a fatal brain bleeding over her last painful hours in May 2022. Imagine all of that and then try to stay quiet when you are confronted by abuse again,” said Action Society spokesperson, Moira Kloppers.
On 17 November 2023 the Johannesburg High Court found both of them guilty of killing her. They were convicted of various other charges as well, including attempted murder, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect. Nothing will bring the blue-eyed Chevonne back, but Action Society’s persistence played a key role in getting the two convicted and we will continue to fight until they are punished to the furthest extent of the law.
Cycle of abuse and addiction:
On 11 May 2022, Stefan van Niekerk carried Chevonne’s lifeless body into a clinic in Primrose, claiming she had drowned. There was very little the doctors could do to save her life and she died at the clinic . Her small body was covered in bruises and there was blood in her mouth. It was clear that she had been killed and Stefan was arrested.
Chevonne was severely and repeatedly abused by Stefan. A pathologist’s report revealed that her body was covered with 49 bruises and the cause of her death was bleeding on the brain.
By their own admission to the court, both Rochelle and Stefan were hopelessly addicted to drugs. They confessed that they regularly used marijuana and crystal meth together. They were driven by their addictions and would do anything to get high, including abandoning their daughter.
Stefan confessed to beating Chevonne while she was in his care. He showed very little remorse when the court detailed the abuse he inflicted on Chevonne.
Rochelle failed to exonerate herself by playing the victim. She desperately wanted to make it seem as though she was a helpless victim in Sefan’s schemes, and was too afraid to go to the police. However the investigation found she failed to report the abuse even when she was given the opportunity multiple times with police visits to the house.
Save our children:
Part of our mission at Action Society is to safeguard the children in our communities. Children are the most vulnerable members of our communities and they are regularly targeted by murderers and rapists in South Africa.
“We lost 293 children to murder in the first quarter of this year. That is three children per day. Every day four children narrowly escape death due to attempted murder. Every day sixteen children are assaulted with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Do not tell me that no one noticed or suspected. We are all responsible to save our children.
“Every parent, every family member, family friend, every caregiver, every teacher, yes, every member of the public who have ever witnessed or knows of any form of child abuse should note: If you neglect to report abuse or if you fail to protect or aid an abused child, you are just as guilty as the one who committed the act of violence,” concluded Kloppers.
Take action today! Share Chevonne’s story. #SayHerName and consider funding our efforts to bring her killers to justice. Click here: https://actionsociety.co.za/donate/
