Amber-Lee Hughes alleges abuse and neglect leading up to child’s murder

Convicted child rapist and murderer Amber-Lee Hughes takes the stand for raping and killing four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita, at the High Court in Johannesburg, 18 February 2026, for sentencing. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen Amber-Lee Hughes has thrown the dice again, returning to the stand on Friday for her sentencing hearing with shocking details about her turbulent relationship with Ellie Challita. Ellie Challita is the father of Nada-Jane Challita, a four-year-old who was brutally murdered by Hughes in 2023.

Hughes alleged that Ellie was physically abusive towards her throughout their relationship, revelations that now cast a shadow over the proceedings as Ellie prepares to take the stand in the coming court appearances. Hughes and Ellie met when she was a teacher at Nada-Jane’s school. Hughes painted a picture of a relationship that began with the intimacy of a parent-teacher dynamic before evolving into something far more complex.

The two had initially communicated frequently about Nada’s welfare, with Ellie expressing deep gratitude for Hughes’ care. “I can feel and see how you treat Nada,” Ellie wrote in one message revealed to the court, adding, “Nada and I are so lucky that you are her teacher and you are looking after her.” Hughes, responding to the court’s questions about the nature of those early messages, acknowledged that the flirtation in their exchanges had originated with Ellie. Before their relationship took a romantic turn, Hughes testified that she had observed troubling signs of neglect in Nada’s day-to-day condition.

[paywall]

She described the child’s hair as severely matted, not simply curly or natural, but knotted to the point where neither a comb nor her fingers could pass through. She told the court that on at least one occasion, she had no choice but to cut the knots out entirely.

[/paywall]