Van Breda trial delayed

DE ZALZE Golf Estate murder accused Henri van Breda, 22, will have another month before he stands trial, after the case was adjourned to April 24.

Yesterday, Van Breda made a brief appearance before Judge Siraj Desai in the Western Cape High Court. He was due to stand trial for the murder of his parents and his older brother in the family’s luxury De Zalze Estate home in Stellenbosch in January 2015.

Arriving in the courtroom, packed with journalists and amid flashes from cellphone cameras, Van Breda appeared to be very calm dressed in a navy suit with his hair neatly slicked to the side.

He was escorted to the dock by court orderlies who told people in the gallery not to take any photographs.

Prosecutor Susan Galloway requested that the trial be postponed following an appeal on a media order regarding live broadcasting, which was granted, only to be suspended later in court.

Galloway said: “There is an appeal pending on whether the public need to be privy to the totality of the court.

“We also want the court to afford us the chance to consult our witnesses on the media order. Some said they don’t want to speak with the cameras recording, others have fear. We need to find out if they object and what are those objections,” she said.

Defence lawyer Pieter Botha agreed to the postponement based on evidence that has not yet been viewed by the defence.

“There is forensic evidence of the weapon taken twice, which we have not seen. Also there are electronic photos that we have requested that we have not received.”

Botha said it would not be fair for him to advise his client to plead when he has not viewed all the evidence.

Judge Desai, before granting the postponement, cautioned both the State and defence not to delay the trial.

Earlier, Judge Desai ruled that video clips of the murder trial may be broadcast, with the exception that Marli van Breda’s testimony be note-recorded – written comments only. But the ruling was suspended after both the State and defence teams opposed it.