Possible axe murder trial delay over media access
THE start of the axe murder trial of Henri van Breda may be further delayed to allow the State and the defence to submit an application for leave to appeal against a ruling which gives a media company rights to broadcast trial proceedings.
The trial was initially scheduled to start on March 27, but was postponed until April 24 after Judge Siraj Desai’s ruling to allow Media 24 to broadcast the trial proceedings.
The national director of public prosecutions opposed the ruling, as did Van Breda’s legal team.
This week, Desai denied the parties leave to appeal against his ruling.
This development could mean the parties have to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, which will delay the start of the trial by at least two weeks.
Desai found there was no evidence to support concerns raised by the State and the defence about witnesses being intimidated by the presence of video cameras in court.
Advocate Hamilton Epstein for the State disputed this, saying court was already an intimidating environment for the layman and it would be more so with cameras present.
Van Breda is accused of killing his father Martin, his mother Teresa and his brother Rudi with an axe in their De Zalze home in Stellenbosch in January 2015. His sister Marli was injured. She is expected to be a witness.
‘Court already an intimidating environment’