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A former Hawks officer who secured a lifetime prison sentence in one of the country's most high profile baby murder cases nearly 20 years ago, is going to jail for corruption, possession of drugs, obstruction of justice and the negligent loss of a firearm.
Esmeralda Bailey was sentenced to an effective 11 years behind bars on Tuesday by the Bellville serious commercial crimes court in Cape Town.
The former captain investigated the June 2005 murder of baby Jordan Leigh Norton who was stabbed in the neck at the home of her grandparents. The tale of a love triangle emerged during a trial which resulted in a life sentence imposed on Dina Rodrigues, the mastermind behind the infant's murder.
Hawks spokesperson W/O Zinzi Hani said: “It is reported that Bailey was arrested by the serious corruption investigation team in 2011 and charged. At the time she was attached to serious organised crime investigation.
“The accused was arrested during an intelligence-driven operation where she tried to sell police uniforms and ammunition. During a search and seizure operation, exhibits and case dockets were found in her apartment,” said Hani.
TimesLIVE previously reported that when Bailey appeared in court in April 2012, the Western Cape Directorate for Public Prosecutions had authorised a police trap in which an undercover agent paid her R4,500 for a tog bag containing a police cap and reflector jacket, a pair of police socks, a police shirt and trousers.
Bailey was found guilty and sentenced to:
- 11 years for corruption.
- Six months for possession of drugs found in her Brooklyn home in 2011.
- Two years for defeating the ends of justice regarding possession of missing police dockets, one involving an armed robbery and another a vehicle hijacking and armed robbery.
- 36 months for the negligent loss of a firearm.
All the sentences will run concurrently.
TimesLIVE
