Former Hawks officer Esmeralda Bailey, who was given lifetime imprisonment for a high-profile baby murder case nearly 20 years ago, is going to jail for corruption, possession of drugs, obstruction of justice and the negligent loss of a firearm.
Bailey was sentenced to an effective 11 years 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 her grandparents’ home. 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.
Bailey was arrested by the Hawks in 2011 and charged. At the time she was involved with 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 the Hawks.
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 sentenced to:
- 11 years for corruption;
- Six months for possession of drugs;
- Two years for defeating the ends of justice regarding possession of missing police dockets – one concerned 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. It’s not known why the case took so long to be concluded.
[Photo: https://x.com/sa_crime/status/1821178227181941069/photo/1]