One of Netflix’s hugely popular shows, “Blood & Water”, which has been running for three seasons, bears a slight resemblance to the real-life story of the Nurse family from Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.
And the heartbreaking story has been captured in “Girl, Taken”, which is a true-crime documentary feature centred on the kidnapping of baby Zephany. It started showing at festivals last year.
The film captures how Celeste and Morné Nurse wrestled with the nightmare of losing their baby, with the hope of finding her dwindling over the years.
The opening frames of “Girl, Taken” are of Morné as he remembers falling in love with Celeste and them falling pregnant and getting married, before Zephany was born.
And on April 28, 1997, Zephany arrives. With the baby in a breech position, there were complications and concerns but it ended well, much to the relief of her parents.
Sadly, their joy was short-lived as a woman pretending to be a staff member at the Groote Schuur Hospital managed to walk off with the baby while a recovering Celeste dozed off.
Hours later, a flurry of media descended, looking for further information on the breaking news story.
The documentary includes archived footage of the Nurse family as well as some of the televised courtroom coverage.
But hearing about that period directly from Celeste and Morné is devastating for different reasons.
In life, when tragedy strikes, at some point, you have to move on. And the couple, while holding out hope of finding Zephany, moved forward with the birth of Cassidy, followed by Joshua and Micah, born in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
For the film, though, Cassidy is the only sibling who weighs in on how Zephany’s disappearance hovered like a dark shadow over the family and placed undue pressure on her, too.
The makers of “Girl, Taken” paint a vivid picture of the guilt and blame shared by Celeste and Morné and how it led to a breakdown of their marriage.
The prank calls and false leads didn’t make it easier on the family.
A turning point in the Nurse family’s living nightmare came when Cassidy started attending Zwaanswyk High School, where she kept getting comments about her bearing a striking resemblance to another student – Miché Solomon.
Disbelieving at first, when she bumped into Miché she realised there was truth in what was being said .
As time wore on, Cassidy mentioned the similarity to her parents. And it got them curious enough to look a little closer at the situation.
After some probing and a DNA test, it was confirmed that Miché was in fact Zephany. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending or relief for the Nurse family.
The arrest of Lavona Solomon garnered mixed reactions from the public as well as Miché. She didn’t feel comfortable developing a relationship with her biological parents.
And she turned to Michael, who was the only father she knew, during that troubling time.
Towards the end, Celeste and Morné were made out to be the villains instead of the victims as they were put on trial by the public amid Lavona’s courtroom battle.
Emotions ran high, understandably so. Accusations were thrown around about Morné using the situation for financial gain.
Although it took 17 years to get justice, the pain of not knowing was replaced by the pain of rejection for the Nurse family.
While the viewer can empathise with Celeste and Morné as parents who were robbed of a daughter, there is also an understanding of Miché spurning their love for the only parents she knows.
This true-life story is tragic on so many levels. It may not have ended in sunshine and roses, but there was a bit of healing, especially with Celeste and Morné rekindling their love and tying the knot in 2020.
For now, it is baby steps as Miché, who has since become a mom and author, is slowly rebuilding her life – allowing herself to also bond with her biological family.
“Girl, Taken” is streaming on Showmax.