Durban — The mother of a murdered teenager, who was allegedly stabbed and killed by a fellow pupil, left the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday frustrated and angry after arguments on the merits of the case and possible judgment were delayed due to a power outage.
“I thought that today would be the beginning of an end to this.
“The whole experience has been traumatic for me, I travel 15km every day to come to court, and then this happened,” Jorina Pretorius said outside court.
Her son, 15-year-old Jayden Glazer, was allegedly stabbed after school by a then-16-year-old Grade 10 fellow pupil in Ashley, Pinetown, in 2022.
“It makes me angry just having to see the accused each time I come to court, even more so today because it is his 18th birthday.
“He gets to continue celebrating his birthdays while my son no longer can after being killed nine months before his 16th birthday,” she said.
The two teens both attended Chosen Independent Studies where Jaden was in Grade 9.
It’s alleged that on the day of the stabbing, there had been a fistfight between Jaden and the accused, who can’t be named as he is still a minor.
The teen accused, because he was 16 at the time of the commission of the offence, faces a charge of murder.
The trial is being heard in-camera due to him being underage, as well as the witnesses.
Members of the public and the media are not allowed to sit in on the trial.
During the trial, the court heard evidence from a teen who had recorded on his cellphone the moments leading up to Jaden’s stabbing.
He has told the court that a fistfight had allegedly been set on that day; it was there that the accused allegedly stabbed Jaden.
The video clip was played in court. In it, Jayden is seen walking to the boys with his hands behind his back.
He has no weapon, but the accused stabs him, after which Jayden lies on the grass, bleeding out.
Voices in the video can be heard saying, “No weapons, we said no weapons”.
The accused is currently out on warning and has been released into the care of his grandmother.
Pretorius told the Daily News previously outside court that the accused’s father had approached her and apologised to her.
“I feel that his (the accused’s) mother and grandmother should have done the same, but there has been no other forthcoming remorse.
“Hearing the details of how everything played out also evokes anger in me; how the entire 13cm shogun knife was forced into my son’s body.
“The whole thing was just senseless and could have been prevented.
“Evidence in the trial was that Jayden came up to the accused and asked him what his problem was and instead of answering, he took out a knife and forced the knife into his body.”
The matter was rolled over until today (Wednesday).
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