Henri van Breda has been found guilty of the murder of his father, brother and mother and the attempted murder of his sister. A TimesLIVE report notes that he was also found guilty of defeating the ends of justice.

Van Breda's brother, Rudi, and father, Martin, were found hacked to death in an upstairs room of their luxury estate home in Stellenbosch on 27 January 2015. His mother, Teresa, and sister, Marli, were found ‘nearby in the doorway’ close to the same room.

Judge Siraj Desai's judgment in the Western Cape High Court brought to a close a trial in which scores of witnesses trawled through forensic evidence and accounts of the day and night in question. Desai said Van Breda's call to emergency services (EMS) on the night of the attack showed a ‘lack of urgency’. He added that the ‘demeanour of the accused’ during ‘an unduly long conversation’ with EMS seemed ‘highly unusual for a traumatised victim’.

Desai said that Van Breda had ‘become emotional from time to time’ during the trial – which was ‘to be expected’ but that in general‚ he ‘did not show a great deal of emotion when he demonstrated the fatal blows to his family members’ by an alleged axe-wielding attacker.

Referring to Van Breda's plea statement, in which he claimed there had been ‘unknown intruders’ on the premises, Desai said the court agreed with the prosecutor ‘that it is highly unlikely the perimeter of the luxury De Zalze estate was breached by an intruder’.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 5 June.

Full TimesLIVE report

Van Breda spent his first night in jail last night. A report on the IoL site notes Desai revoked his bail but agreed that Van Breda could be held in the hospital section of Pollsmoor prison. He told defence lawyer Piet Botha that Correctional Services must be provided with medical certificates to justify that decision. Botha had argued that his client was on anti-depressants and chronic medication for epilepsy.

A Daily Maverick report points out the motive behind the slayings was never firmly established. Van Breda showed no emotion as Desai instructed him to stand and informed him that he had been found guilty. ‘You understand,’ asked the judge. Yes, sir,’ Van Breda mumbled. It took Desai longer than four hours to deliver the summarised version of his judgment, during which Van Breda visibly struggled to stay awake.

Shortly before the lunch adjournment, the young man was succumbing to fatigue, closing his eyes for brief periods before shaking himself awake again. He gave the impression of someone who was heavily medicated – subsequently confirmed by his lawyer.

The DM report notes that in his summary judgment, Desai shied away from strong moral condemnation of Van Breda but repeatedly used the words ‘peculiar’, ‘unlikely’ and ‘improbable’ in summarising the defence’s case.

Full report on the IoL site

Full Daily Maverick report