Amber Lee Hughes Claims Brutal Act Was to Protect Child from Alleged Neglect

• Amber Lee Hughes claimed that killing four-year-old Nada Jane Challita was to protect her from alleged neglect
• Hughes admitted to raping and drowning the child, citing a troubled relationship with her former partner
• The court proceedings focused on mitigating circumstances, as Hughes expressed remorse for her actions

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

GAUTENG, JOHANNESBURG - Self-confessed child killer Amber Lee Hughes told the Johannesburg High Court that she believed killing four-year-old Nada Jane Challita was the only way to save her from what she described as neglect.

Considered killing both the child and herself

Wednesday, 18 February 2026, marked the third day of sentencing proceedings. Hughes, aged 26, has admitted to raping and murdering the child, who died in a Glenvista apartment on 23 January 2023 while in her care. She is presenting evidence in mitigation of sentence. Hughes told the court she had considered killing both the child and herself. She said she believed Nada would not have a future without her and would face neglect. She claimed she thought ending the child's life was the only way to protect her.

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She blamed her former partner, Elie Challita, for pushing her to commit the crime. Hughes said he belittled her, admitted attempting to sleep with prostitutes and became aggressive when she contacted him repeatedly. She alleged the relationship involved infidelity, violent arguments and exchanged death threats. She also claimed he forced her to terminate a three-month pregnancy and told her she was unfit to be a mother. Hughes told the court she feared leaving Nada in Challita's care. She alleged the child had been neglected before she entered the picture and said she had treated Nada as her own.

Hughes admitted drowning the child

The State rejected that line of argument. Prosecutor Rolene Barnard questioned the relevance of the child's living conditions to sentencing. Judge Richard Makhabela echoed the concern. He said the court was dealing with mitigation after Hughes admitted drowning the child and did not see how testimony about alleged neglect assisted the process.

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Hughes stated that she should have left the relationship earlier. She expressed remorse and said she thinks about the child's death nearly every day in prison. She apologised to Nada and said the child did not deserve to die. She said she was not blaming Challita for the murder but maintained that he had driven her to act. Sentencing proceedings continue.

Child minder arrested for neglect after toddler hospitalised in Jeffreys Bay

Briefly News previously reported that a 59-year-old childminder was arrested in Jeffreys Bay on Saturday after a two-year-old girl was discovered with open wounds to her upper body in the early hours of 1 January 2026.

Eastern Cape police indicated that officers were called to a home on Govan Mbeki Street in the Tokyo Sexwale on Thursday morning,1 January 2026, following a complaint about an injured toddler.

Source: Briefly News