Expert testifies about blood at scene of killings
The grey shorts murder-accused Henri van Breda was wearing on the night his mother, father and brother were murdered had a total of 67 blood spatter stains on them.
Captain Marius Joubert, a blood spatter expert at the police’s forensic science laboratory, told the Western Cape High Court yesterday that he examined a number of exhibits from the crime scene at 12 Goske Street in the de Zalze security estate in Stellenbosch.
Of the 67 bloodstains found on the front of Van Breda’s shorts, DNA results showed that 35 were from his brother Rudi, five were from his father Martin, and there was a mixture of stains which included DNA from his mother Teresa, Joubert testified.
He told the court that these stains were probably the result of contact with a bloodstained object.
Joubert is the state’s final witness in the case against 22-yearold Van Breda, who has been charged with the January 2015 axe killings of his mother, father and brother, as well as the attempted murder of his sister, Marli, who was 16 years old at the time.
Joubert said the shorts had been exposed to “multiple blood shedding events”.
Joubert also received a pair of white socks worn by Henri which had “multiple blood spatter stains”. He said force had been applied to the source and blood had travelled through the air and landed on the socks.
He said 17 blood cuttings were taken from the socks – nine samples came from Rudi, one from Martin, one from Teresa and two from Henri.
A blue T-shirt found under Henri’s bed was also taken for analysis. Joubert told the court that from 12 cuttings, five were profiled. The blood came from Rudi.
He concluded that some blood stains on the floor were caused by Marli moving her right arm when emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
In the bedroom Henri shared with Rudi, the blood spatter pattern was in directional angles suggesting they were “caused by force” to Rudi while he was still in bed.
The pattern also suggested Rudi was stationery for a while, allowing a pool of blood to form.
Joubert said there was a swipe and wipe pattern suggesting Rudi was moved through the blood. Furthermore, the blood had time to clot before he was moved, indicating time had passed before his upper body on the bed was disturbed.
Bloodstains on the bedroom wall were from Rudi and Martin, which suggested “they were both in contact with the source which left the stain on the wall”.
He said the handle of the axe also had bloodstains on it. – ANA