By Mapaballo Borotho
- A police sergeant testified in the Johannesburg High Court that Tifanny Meek appeared calm and showed no panic while officers searched for her missing son, Jayden-Lee.
- The State alleges that Jayden-Lee returned home safely from school and was later killed inside his mother’s flat before his body was found in their Fleurhof complex.
- Meek has pleaded not guilty, and the matter has been postponed to August for further witness testimony.
New evidence has surfaced at the Johannesburg High Court sitting in Palm Ridge on Friday, 12 June 2026, in the murder trial of Jayden-Lee Meek.
Jayden-Lee was reported missing last year and was subsequently found dead a few days after his disappearance.
His mother initially claimed that he never made it home from school on the day he vanished, a version of events that eyewitnesses have strongly disputed.
In this chilling case, Jayden-Lee’s mother, Tifanny Meek, was arrested and has remained behind bars since May 2025.
Jayden-Lee’s lifeless body was later found on a staircase inside their Fleurhof residential complex. According to postmortem results, the 11-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Court proceedings last year revealed allegations that Jayden-Lee was killed inside his mother’s flat and that signs of physical abuse were visible on his body, including multiple bruises.
During the proceedings on Friday, a police sergeant who was actively involved in the search for Jayden-Lee testified that Tifanny Meek did not appear to be a mother who was shocked or worried about her missing child.
In her testimony, the officer said Meek showed no panic or concern while police searched for her son.
When asked about Meek’s demeanour, she told the court that Meek remained calm while officers searched for her son during the late-night hours.
The police sergeant, who said she has extensive experience in dealing with missing persons cases, testified that most parents usually display signs of concern, panic, or distress.
According to her, Meek did not.
When questioned by the defence about whether there is a correct way for a person to react when someone is missing, the police sergeant responded:
“If it were my child, I could not be calm. I even told my colleague that, by the way she was acting, she knows where the child is. I didn’t think the child was dead or anything.”
Meek has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against her, insisting that she is being framed and would never harm her own child.
The matter has been postponed until late August for the testimony of additional witnesses.
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