Van Breda quizzed over evidence contradictions

IN his most gruelling day yet on the witness stand‚ triple axe-murder accused Henri van Breda faced some extremely tough questions from state prosecutor Susan Galloway yesterday.

Galloway led Van Breda through a catalogue of contradictions as she homed in on blood at the crime scene where his parents, Martin and Teresa, and brother, Rudi, had been murdered at their luxury home in Stellenbosch in 2015.

His sister, Marli, who was also attacked, survived but suffers from retrograde amnesia.

The most chilling question of all was this: How could Rudi‚ brutally attacked with an axe that delivered several blows to the head‚ manage to roll up a duvet and place it over a knife?

The state alleges Rudi died quickly from the brutal attack‚ but the defence has him staying alive for some time after.

This claim puts him in place to push a knife under a bed‚ drag a duvet‚ and move himself off the bed to the door between the bedroom and bathroom before dying.

State witnesses have testified in court already that it was likely Van Breda himself who had dragged his brother’s body across the floor and changed the crime scene.

Galloway also asked Van Breda how blood had ended up in the shower.

“Blood would have been transferred to the bathroom,” Galloway said‚ “and your alleged attacker never ventured into the bathroom.” Van Breda confirmed this. Galloway also pointed out that his own injuries “were all sustained before you say you lost consciousness”, yet there was no blood flow from the alleged passing out on the stairwell.

“The blood did not change direction at all‚” Galloway said.

She also asked how the axe was so bloody that it left a trail on the wall when Van Breda claims he threw it at his attacker‚ and yet not a single drop of his family members’ blood had ended up on his torso in the scuffle just before that.

The case continues. – TimesLIVE