Cape Town - "She's an evil bitch. She's spoilt and she did it." A woman who claims to know Dina Rodrigues, delivered this damning opinion outside the Cape High Court on Thursday, as judgement was being read out.
The woman, who declined to be named told News24 that she knew people connected to the Norton family as well as Rodrigues; who is at the centre of a media maelstrom after she allegedly hired four men to kill her lover's baby with another woman.
"That arsehole is so sure she's going to get away with it," the woman fumed in anger, after she emerged from the morning session of court. "She's sitting there smiling with her lawyer."
Dozens of others who couldn't fit into the packed courtroom spilled over into the street outside, while the lengthy judgement on the murder of baby Jordan was being read out in the Cape High Court.
Rodrigues, Sipho Mfazwe, Mongezi Bobotyane, Zanethemba Gwada and Bonginkosi Sigenu stand accused of murdering six-month-old baby Jordan-Leigh Norton on June 15 2005.
Jordan was the child of Natasha Norton and Neil Wilson.
Wilson, a teacher, had been involved with Norton, but at the time of the murder was seriously involved with Rodrigues.
Justice must be done
"I want them to be severely punished" said another bystander, Yvonne, of Dina Rodrigues and the four men. "That child didn't even have a chance on this earth. Justice must be done."
Like most others at the court, Yvonne, a mother of three, has been following the high-profile case via the media. She stood outside the court all morning, waiting for Judge Bashier Waglay's ruling on the case that has captured the attention of a nation.
"You don't have a heart for a woman who does something like that. It's absolutely bad."
Crowds stood with cellphone cameras at the ready to capture the now familiar face of Rodrigues as she rushed out of court for the 13:00 lunch break, wearing dark sunglasses.
Judge Wagley was only on page 30 of his 150 page ruling at lunchtime. Though he hoped to finish the ruling on Thursday, translation into isiXhosa for the benefit of the alleged hitman has slowed the process down.
A sense of relief
Baby Jordan's grandfather, Vernon Norton doubted the judgement would conclude on Thursday. Wearing a pink shirt along with the rest of the prosecution, Norton told News24 that he was finally feeling a weight being lifted off of his shoulders.
"At the moment I've felt a real sense of relief start in the last few hours or so, after being in court for the past 16 or 17 months."
"Obviously we're still a bit anxious because we've still got four fifths to go." Norton said it would be "presumptuous" of him to say anything about the way the judgement was going.
But others who were inside the court felt positive that the judgement would result in a guilty verdict for Rodrigues. The judge has accepted Wilson's testimony as well as the evidence of a courier company employee that he handed Rodrigues a blank waybill at her place of work before the murder.
A waybill allegedly bearing Rodrigues' fingerprints was found on the scene of the killing, after men pretending to be deliverymen forced their way into the Norton family home.
According to the prosecutors, Rodrigues' motive for the murder was to save Wilson the financial burden of maintenance as well as jealousy and shame that he had had a baby with another woman out of wedlock.
