Amber Lee Hughes, 25, admitted forcing her boyfriend’s four-year-old daughter, Nada-Jane Chalita, into a bathtub until she drowned as a post-mortem revealed signs of sexual assault
An evil nursery school teacher who raped and murdered her boyfriend’s four-year-old daughter committed one sickening final act after drowning her in a bathtub.
Amber Lee Hughes, 25, admitted killing little Nada-Jane Chalita in a harrowing attack sparked by her paranoid suspicions that her partner was cheating on her.
Nada-Jane’s father, Elie, had left his daughter in Hughes’ care while he went to a job interview in Johannesburg on January 23, 2023. But when he didn’t kiss her goodbye, Hughes flew into a jealous rage that saw her force the child into the bathtub and sit on her until she drowned.
After denying murder at the beginning of her trial, Hughes later changed her plea to guilty – and admitted that she left the four-year-old’s body in the bath with the tap running after she went quiet.
She told Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg: “I admit that I drowned the deceased, Nada Jane Therese Challita, on 23 January 2023 by sitting on her, which had the result that she was submerged in the water.
“I admit that after the deceased did not respond, I left her in the bathtub while the cold water tap was left running.”
It was heard during the trial that in a message sent to Elie moments before the murder, Hughes said: “You broke my heart; I’m going to burn yours. How could you do that to me?”. A post-mortem examination revealed that Nada-Jane had been sexually assaulted twice before her death.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Hughes claimed her traumatic childhood and mental health struggles had led her to the crime, saying she had faced bullying and attempted suicide on multiple occasions.
Giving evidence in court, social worker Carina Wolmarans said she believed that Hughes felt profound remorse for the killing, telling the court: “She said she wishes she could take it back.”
But judge Richard Mkabela said that Hughes’ actions were “clearly premeditated and that her messages prior to the murder demonstrated her intention, adding: “The inference is irresistible that [Hughes] made threat of burning Mr Challita’s heart and made good on that threat.”
Hughes began a relationship with Elie in 2021 and relocated to live with him and Nada-Jane. The court was told the relationship was volatile, with Hughes repeatedly making threats to harm Nada-Jane.
She was convicted in August of premeditated murder and vaginal rape, offences which carry minimum sentences of life in prison under South African law.
When questioned about the proceedings, Elie said he felt nothing would make up for what happened to his daughter, saying: “Obviously, I’m the parent of the child. The justice that I seek doesn’t exist in this world or in this lifetime.”
There was further frustration from the victim’s family on Wednesday after judges postponed sentencing until February 16, 2026.
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