Western Cape High Court Judge, Siraj Desai, has refused Henri Van Breda’s application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence. Despite this, his defence lawyer Advocate Pieter Botha confirmed that he has opted for a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Botha will have to file the papers within 15 days.
In May this year, Van Breda was convicted of the triple axe murders of his older brother and parents, as well as the attempted murder of his younger sister, Marli. He was also found guilty of defeating the ends of justice after providing false information to police on what transpired on that fateful night.
The murder took place at the family home on the luxury De Zalze security estate in 2015.
Desai sentenced Van Breda to three life sentences, 15 years for attempted murder and a year for defeating the ends of justice. All of the sentences will run concurrently.
The judge said that this lengthy jail term is appropriate for Van Breda’s “heinous crimes”. The only mitigating factors thus far have been Van Breda’s youthfulness and the fact that he has had no previous convictions.
In court, Desai said that Botha did not make any compelling arguments for the appeal to be heard. “The arguments he made are similar, if not the same advanced during the trial, and were rejected in principle in the judgment,” he said.
“The key pillars of the State’s case provided conclusive evidence of his guilt and are in effect unassailable.”
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