A KwaZulu-Natal mother, accused of murdering her seven-year-old son, is to remain behind bars until she can be sent for a psychological assessment.
Megan Prins, 34, will have to wait until a bed is available at Fort Napier, a public mental facility, the Durban Magistrate’s Court heard on Friday.
Once at the facility, her mental state can be observed and assessed by medical professionals.
“Ideally, we would want this to happen as soon as possible but because of a long queue, you will have to wait for availability of a bed,” Magistrate Mahomed Motala said.
Prosecutor Vaneshree Moodley also asked that Prins refrain from communicating with her former husband Robert Porter. He is expected to testify against her.
READ: ‘I am so alone’ – Durban mom after appearing in court for son’s murder
Prins, reportedly a trained nurse, was arrested after allegedly admitting that she had killed her son after booking into an Umhlanga guest house.
She allegedly gave him adult medication before smothering him to death and attempting suicide by slitting her wrists and throat.
Dressed in a navy blue dress, white jacket and a black headscarf, Prins appeared calm and lucid in the dock.
‘I am so alone in prison’
At her first court appearance, the Morningside single mother, indicated through her lawyer that she intended to plead guilty.
Moodley said that there was a possibility that there would be additional charges against Prins.
Previously, Prins left the dock sobbing and, as she went down the steps to the cells below, was heard wailing: “I am so alone… I am so alone in prison.”
Prins reportedly checked into the guest house in June and asked for a late checkout the following morning.
A few hours later, she called the owner, crying, and told him what had transpired. He called the police and the paramedics.