1. Murders

2. Investigation

3. Aftermath, rearrest and trial
    Verdict  Sentence   Appeal  

4. See also

5. References

6. External links

The Van Breda murders were the killing of three family members and serious injuring of another on 27 January 2015 at a golf estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa. After a year and a half of investigations by the South African police, the chief suspect and youngest son, Henri Christo Van Breda^[1], handed himself over to police in June 2016 and was released on bail the next day. The case polarized the country's media and gained significant attention since Henri's surrender.^[2] Henri van Breda was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice on the 21 May 2018 by the Western Cape High Court.^[3][4][5]

He was sentenced to a life sentence for each of the three murders, 15 years for attempted murder and 12 months for obstruction of justice. The sentences are to run concurrently.^[6]

Murders

On Wednesday, 27 January 2015, Martin van Breda, 54, the managing director of Engel & Völkers in Australia,^[7]; his wife, Teresa, 55; and their son, Rudi, 22, were found dead in their home, victims of an axe attack. Their daughter, Marli, 16, was in a critical condition having sustained serious head injuries. Youngest son, Henri, 20, was slightly injured in the incident with only minor lacerations to show. According to court papers, he called his girlfriend at 4:42 am, which went unanswered, and then searched the internet for local emergency numbers. Almost three hours later, Henri made a call to emergency services, exclaiming, "My ... my family and me were attacked ... by a guy with an axe." The audio recording of this conversation with operators from emergency services was made available by local broadcaster eNCA a few days after the attack.^[8][9]

Investigation

Police arrived on scene, where emergency services declared van Breda’s parents and brother dead. Marli, who was also attacked with the axe that killed her parents and brother, was in a critical condition and rushed to an intensive care unit. Over the course of a few months, extensive surgery and further medical treatment saved her life; however, she has since been diagnosed with retrograde amnesia and has no recollection of what took place on the evening of the attack.^[10] An axe and a knife, both identified as coming from the van Breda family home, were recovered at the scene. It was determined that no forced entry was apparent and the accused was alleged to have tampered with the evidence. According to police, Van Breda was dressed in a pair of sleep shorts and white socks covered in blood, the DNA of which was a match for his parents and brother. The court papers read, "It is believed that after the commission of the crimes, the accused tampered with the crime scene, inflicted injuries to his person and supplied false information to the police in order to mislead police as to the true identity of the perpetrator."^[9]

Aftermath, rearrest and trial

Marli van Breda spent months undergoing intensive physiotherapy and eventually returned to school, but was kept separated from her older brother, both parties residing with family members. Henri continued to plead innocent while local news outlets reported that he may have had a "tik addiction".^[11] According to the Sunday Times, police investigated a number of possible motives, including that Henri's allowance may have been cut off by his parents. The newspaper tracked down a man who claimed to have been Henri's drug dealer and who reportedly identified Henri from a photograph, saying that he had been a regular customer. Henri allegedly spent time at an upmarket drug rehabilitation centre in Cape Town.^[12] After a year and a half of investigations, police called van Breda's lawyer to inform her of her client's imminent arrest unless he handed himself over to police, which he did on 13 June 2016.^[13] According to reports, Marli van Breda's legal representative and curator said, "The news is understandably very distressing to Marli, the family want justice to take its course.”^[13]

On 14 June 2016, Henri van Breda appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate Court to face three charges of murder and one of attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice. Bail was set at R100,000 and van Breda was released under the conditions that he report to his local police station regularly and not leave the Western Cape.^[14]

A pre-trial hearing was held at the Western Cape High Court in September 2016 and the case was postponed until November as state prosecutor Susan Galloway requested more time to obtain outstanding computer and DNA evidence.^[15]

Van Breda and his girlfriend, Danielle Janse Van Rensburg, were arrested on 6 September 2016 by Table View police for the possession of cannabis and were granted bail of R1000 and R200 respectively. The case of drug possession was heard on 12 October 2016 at the Cape Town Magistrate Court and was postponed due to outstanding documentation.^[16]

On 4 April 2017, the state's trial against Henri van Breda started in the Western Cape High Court with him entering a not guilty plea. During testimony describing his recollection of the events, Henri claimed he and the family were attacked by "an axe-wielding black man, wearing dark clothes, gloves and a balaclava-type mask".^[17] One month before the trial started, presiding Judge Siraj Desai ruled in favour of an application by media group Media24 to broadcast the trial. However, due to appeals by both the National Prosecuting Authority and the defence, the order was put on hold until the matter was resolved.^[18]

Verdict

On 21 May 2018, the court delivered its verdict through Desai, finding Henri guilty on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice. He was immediately taken into custody instead of temporary release until sentencing, in the interest of society, to be transferred to Pollsmoor Prison's hospital section. He was under treatment for epilepsy and depression following the murders.^[19]

Sentence

On 7 June 2018, Henri van Breda was sentenced to three life terms in prison by Desai in the Western Cape High Court for the murders of his mother, father and brother; 15 years for attempted murder on his sister and a further 12 months for obstruction of justice.

Appeal

On 7 November 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed van Breda's application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence. ^[20][21]

See also

• Familicide
• List of massacres in South Africa

References

External links

• Emergency call between Henri van Breda and dispatchers
• Video of Henri van Breda arriving at police station

• The Longer I Lay Here
• The Longest Barrel Ride
• The Longest Day (Dawson's Creek episode)
• The Longest Day (song)
• The Longest Day (Tru Calling)
• The Longest Day (Tru Calling episode)
• The Longest Journey (soundtrack)
• The longest moremover without obtrusive units
• The Longest Night (1972 film)
• The Longest Night (Angel novel)
• The Longest Night in Shanghai
• The Longest Night (Only Fools and Horses)
• The Longest Nite
• The longest suicide note in history
• The Longest Time
• The Longest Train
• The Longest War
• The Longest Winter
• The longest Word Ever
• The longest yard
• The Longest Yard
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• The Longest Yard (2005 film)
• The Longest Yard (film)
• The Long Forgotten Demo (demo)