Reports from several news sources that Henri van Breda attempted to commit suicide this week have been refuted by his uncle, André van Breda. Speaking to YOU magazine, André denied that his nephew had tried to harm himself, but would not go into details of the incident.
Henri did, however, sustain some sort of injury but it is not confirmed how it came about.
“He had a small scratch, but that is all,” André said.
Twenty-three year-old Henri is at Pollsmoor Prison’s hospital ward after he was found guilty of three counts of murder, as well as a charge of attempted murder, on Monday, 21 May.
In January 2015, Henri’s parents, as well as his older brother, were found axed to death at their home at De Zalze golf estate just outside of Stellenbosch. His younger sister, Marli, was also attacked, but survived. She now suffers from retrograde amnesia, and cannot remember the night of the attack at all.
André also confirmed that Henri was not seriously injured, saying that a”senior source from the Cape” confirmed it to him.
Henri’s attorney, Lorinda van Niekerk, said that she had not been informed that her client has been admitted to an external hospital. She claimed that a medical certificate was submitted to the Western Cape High Court, and that Henri was still being held in Pollsmoor’s hospital wing.
Speaking to EWN, van Niekerk confirmed that when she check up on Henri on Thursday morning, he was still in the prison’s hospital wing.
On May 21, Judge Siraj Desai concluded that the court found there was no credible evidence that an intruder entered the estate and house on the evening of the murders.
“He (Henri) was fully conscious and responsible for his actions for the period before any alleged seizure took place. The accused was the perpetrator of the crime as the only reasonable finding,” Desai said.
The judge withdrew bail and ruled that Henri be remanded into custody, at the hospital section of Pollsmoor prison, on condition he provides medical evidence of his illness.
Henri’s sentencing hearing begins on Tuesday, 5 June.
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