Much interest and one offer for Van Breda murder house
THERE seems to be some movement on the murder mystery that has gripped the nation — even if it is just in the volume of people viewing the home where the Van Breda family were murdered.
Martin van Breda, his wife, Teresa, and their eldest son, Rudi, were bludgeoned to death with an axe. Two of the couple’s children — Henri and Marli — survived.
Their house on the luxury De Zalze estate in Stellenbosch has gone on the market for R6.2-million and it would appear the tragedy has not deterred buyers.
The Sunday Times understands that someone has put in an offer for the four-bedroom house with a splash pool, but estate agents who have the task of selling the 364m2 house would not comment. Other four- bedroom homes on the estate are advertised for between R12-million and R17-million.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “Many people had come to view the house. It is a wonderful estate and people are not going to shy away from the house because of what happened. Obviously residents are still shocked at the horrific crime and people want answers.”
There is not a glimpse of the tragedy of January 27 today except for a bouquet of dead flowers, still in cellophane, beside the front door.
Bottles are still in the wine rack, medicines still on the bedside tables.
There is not a spark of colour in the house. The decor had been styled for maximum glamour within a mediocre budget. The small staircase tries for a Hollywood sweep but achieves a sort of cramped crawl at the side of the room. The polished travertine is chipped and slippery and a long, blond dining table seats 16.
Everything seems oversized except the house. The rooms are small and pokey, but a TV set has a cinema-size screen. There are no antiques or books, only a few magazines and the paperback Fiela se
Kind . The appliances are all state of the art and the pantry has numerous plastic boxes filled with medicines. No arrests have been made. A bloodied Henri emerged on the morning of the incident and directed the police to a “problem” upstairs in the main bedroom, where they found the bodies of Martin and Rudi.
Teresa and Marli were found on a balcony. Teresa was dead, but Marli was still clinging to life.
The police declined to comment on the investigation.