Judge puts Van Breda on the spot

WESTERN Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai had some tough questions for triple murder accused Henri van Breda.

Judge Desai wanted to know how blood spots got on Van Breda’s shoes, which he claimed he left, as he always did, at the bottom of the stairs.

“They were next to the carpet that had a pool of blood,” he said, after examining a photograph of the shoes.

“From these photos, it is fairly clear,” he told the court, but conceded he didn’t know “exactly” how the blood spots got on to the shoes.

Judge Desai also asked Van Breda why, if he was scared as he testified, he hadn’t locked the back door after the intruders fled the house.

Van Breda responded: “I should have. I think I was already busy on the phone. I wasn’t thinking about it.”

On Monday, senior state prosecutor Susan Galloway Senior wrapped up her cross-examination and told the court Van Breda had “selective memory loss, more often than not when it comes to incriminating evidence”.

She highlighted the discrepancies in Van Breda’s initial police statement on January 27 and his plea explanation, saying he later added timelines, became “vague” when it suited and tailored his evidence after having “ample time” to scrutinise the police docket.

Van Breda looked relieved as he stepped out of the witness box after five days of gruelling cross-examination.

The trial was postponed to November 13.