Can Henri beat the axe factor?

Lawyer calls for broadcast ban amid fears over ’circumstantial case’ and ’inhibitions’

THE state’s case against Henri van Breda, who appears tomorrow in the High Court in Cape Town accused of murdering his parents and brother, is based on circumstantial evidence.

This emerged in an affidavit by his lawyer, Lorinda van Niekerk, opposing an application by Media24 to broadcast the trial.

She argued that state witnesses would testify about the crime scene. “Some witnesses will also be called to support evidence given by other witnesses.” This would play “a crucial role in this trial”, in which “it is clear to the defence that the state’s case against the accused is based on circumstantial evidence”.

Van Niekerk said broadcasting the proceedings would also impede the right of Henri, 22, to a fair trial. “I have spent many hours consulting with [Henri] and have no hesitation in stating that he will most definitely be inhibited in his testimony [if it is broadcast], whether by television or radio. He has also conveyed these fears to me. COLD COMFORT: From left, Henri, Marli, Rudi, Teresa and Martin van Breda, pictured during a family holiday abroad. Right: Henri’s lawyer, Lorinda van Niekerk, who opposes the broadcasting of his trial

“[He] is accused of serious crimes. If convicted, he may have to spend a considerable part of his life, if not his entire life, in prison. His freedom, one of the foundational values of the right to a fair trial, is at stake.”

Judge Siraj Desai will announce his decision on broadcasting proceedings at 10am tomorrow, and the trial will begin at 11am.

Henri will be charged with murdering his father, Martin, 54, his mother, Teresa, 55, and his brother, Rudi, 22, and attempting to murder his sister Marli, now 18. According to the indictment, Henri carried out all the attacks by hitting his victims “repeatedly with an axe or similar sharp object”. Marli, who suffered severe injuries in the attack at the family’s De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate home, in Stellenbosch, in January 2015, was described as a “potential witness” in affidavits filed by Media24, which said it was sensitive to her needs and “recognised that the court may have to give different directions as the trial proceeds”. The indictment said raised voices were heard from the Van Breda home on the evening of January 26. “At approximately 4.24am on Tuesday January 27, the accused made a cellphone call to his girlfriend, which went unanswered. At approximately 4.27am [he] did an internet search via Google, looking for emergency numbers. At approximately 7.12am [he] made a series of calls from his cellphone to emergency telephone numbers and at approximately 7.38am there was a further call to his girlfriend.”

When police arrived they found Henri in sleeping shorts and white socks. “A DNA analysis of blood found on the accused and on his clothing matches the DNA of the three deceased. [He] exhibited superficial wounds which included knife wounds. There is expert medical opinion that the wounds are self-inflicted.”

The indictment adds that Henri tampered with the crime scene and lied to the police.

In June last year, he handed himself over to police after his lawyers learnt he was going to be arrested. He has been out on bail of R100 000.

Last year he and his girlfriend, Danielle Janse van Rensburg, were arrested in Table View for possession of dagga. In October the pair appeared in court on drug charges. They are due back in court on April 11.