Convicted killer Henri van Breda is back in the Western Cape High Court today for his sentencing proceedings.
Henri, 23, was found guilty of savagely hacking to death his father Martin, his mother Teresa and his brother Rudi, and attempting to kill his sister Marli, at their luxury De Zalze Estate home in Stellenbosch on January 27, 2015. He has also been found guilty of obstructing the ends of justice.
Presiding judge, Siraj Desai, concluded in his judgment on May 21: “The court finds that there is no credible evidence that an intruder entered the estate and the house that night. He 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. The cumulative effect completes the puzzle there is only one reasonable inference even if the court were to ignore the DNA evidence, the court finds that the accused had sufficient time to tamper with the scene. In the absence of any intruder, the only reasonable inference is that the accused wanted to mislead the police and the court and staged the scene.”
Today, the defense will present arguments for a lighter sentence, although the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will be seeking life sentences on each count of murder.
Follow our legal expert Tracey Stewart @Traceyams on Twitter for the latest updates.
Picture: HSM Images/Jotham van Tonder