{"id":266176,"date":"2025-07-24T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/?p=266176"},"modified":"2025-07-25T08:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T06:49:29","slug":"amber-hughes-murder-confession-nada-jane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/amber-hughes-murder-confession-nada-jane\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-school teacher Amber Lee Hughes confess to murder of Nada-Jane Challita (4)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a dramatic turn of events, Amber Lee Hughes on Thursday admitted to killing four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita \u2013 more than a year after pleading not guilty to the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes told the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg that her actions followed an argument with Nada-Jane\u2019s father over his alleged infidelity. She admitted she was fully aware of what she was doing on the day of the child\u2019s death, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news24.com\/southafrica\/crime-and-courts\/shock-twist-in-nada-jane-murder-accused-now-admits-to-crime-20250724-0553\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">News24<\/a><\/em> reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; her admission read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I admit that after the deceased did not respond, I left her in the bathtub while the cold water tap was left running.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"721\" height=\"629\" data-attachment-id=\"266178\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/amber-hughes-murder-confession-nada-jane\/nada-jane-challita\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nada-Jane-Challita.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"721,629\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Murdered Nada-Jane Challita (4)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Murdered Nada-Jane Challita (4) Photo: Facebook&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nada-Jane-Challita.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nada-Jane-Challita.jpg\" alt=\"Murdered Nada-Jane Challita (4) Photo: Facebook\" class=\"wp-image-266178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nada-Jane-Challita.jpg 721w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nada-Jane-Challita-300x262.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Murdered Nada-Jane Challita (4) Photo: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes also revealed that she attempted to take her own life three times after the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judgment in the high-profile trial had been expected last week, but following a sudden change in her legal representation, Hughes returned to court on Thursday and confessed to drowning the child at her Glenvista home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While she has now admitted to the murder, Hughes maintains that she did not rape Nada-Jane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case has been postponed to 7 August, when arguments on the rape charges will be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes met Nada-Jane&#8217;s father when she was working as an assistant teacher at her school. On the day of the murder he took a work trip and left his daughter in her care. Their relationship was described as volatile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Challita told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeslive.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/2025-07-17-its-horrible-father-relives-pain-of-his-daughters-murder-amid-trial-delays\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TimesLive <\/a>at Hughes&#8217; previous court appearance that \u201cit&#8217;s horrible\u201d\u00a0going to court, reliving his emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy life has been on hold. Everything is on hold until this thing finishes. Only then can I look forward, only then can I look after myself, only then can I look at anything else.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a dramatic turn of events, Amber Lee Hughes on Thursday admitted to killing four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita \u2013 more than a year after pleading not guilty to the 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