Van Breda lawyer in bid to question forensic evidence

IS Henri van Breda’s defence counsel‚ Piet Botha‚ building a case that the collection of forensic material at the Van Breda home was compromised?

It was an excruciating court session yesterday as Botha cross-examined police Warrant Officer Andre Hitchcock‚ who went to the scene of the bloody murders‚ at De Zalze in Stellenbosch‚ to collect and photograph evidence.

Before the court adjourned for lunch‚ Botha reassured Judge Siraj Desai that his lengthy crossexamination would eventually reveal something of huge significance.

“I know we are labouring the point‚ but what’s to come is absolutely crucial‚” he told Desai.

But the afternoon proceedings failed to produced a bombshell.

Van Breda is in the dock for allegedly killing his parents‚ Martin and Teresa‚ his brother Rudi – and for the attempted murder of his sister, Marli.

After lunch‚ Botha questioned Hitchcock about how he had taken swabs of blood from a knife found at the scene.

“Did you lay the knife on the bed to take swabs of blood from it?” he asked.

Hitchcock did. Botha asked if this had not allowed other material to contaminate the knife.

But Hitchcock said he taken the swab from the side of the knife that had not touched the bed.

After lunch many people waited to hear what Botha’s line of questioning would lead to, but to no avail. So, the case will continue again today.