Van Breda had drink before tests

TRIPLE murder accused Henri van Breda had a beer before he went for a medical examination following the butchering of his family, his defence team said yesterday.

This came after evidence was presented in the Western Cape High Court by doctor Michelle van Zyl, who noted in a medical report that Van Breda, then 20, smelt of alcohol, was confident, conversed casually, and appeared relaxed around staff.

Van Zyl, who worked at Vergelegen Medi-Clinic, where police took Van Breda for a medical examination, testified that she had seen him twice on January 27, 2015 – the day of the murders.

Van Breda had first arrived at the hospital for a private consultation with James Reade-Jahn, Marli van Breda’s then boyfriend, at about 8.30pm. He then arrived again with police about an hour later.

Van Zyl noted that Van Breda had a 1.5cm laceration on his upper abdomen, which was not actively bleeding. He also had scratches on his left forearm; long linear superficial scratch marks on his chest, which were not bleeding; a puncture wound to his left clavicle; and both his eyes were bruised.

“He was fully orientated... His wounds were not deep enough for stitches, and I cleaned it and used clips to join the skin... then police came and asked me to examine him,” Van Zyl said.

Van Breda’s mother, Teresa, 55, father Martin, 54, and brother Rudi, 22, were killed with an axe in their De Zalze Estate house, while his sister Marli, then 16, survived the attack and now suffers retrograde amnesia. Van Breda, now 22, has been charged with their murders, Marli’s attempted murder, and defeating the ends of justice. He has pleaded not guilty.

Last week, Marianne Tiemensma, a forensic pathologist at Victoria Hospital in Wynberg, was called in to comment on Henri’s injuries.

Her report said his wounds were “in keeping with what is consistent of self-inflicted wounds”.