Judge Desai said he would present a summary of the events by prior arrangement with the defence and the prosecution.

Judge Desai said early in his summary the superficial injuries to the accused, Henri van Breda before presenting the severe injuries to family members, which proved fatal to all but his sister, Marli.

The judge also indicated that the state's case was based on circumstantial evidence. He pointed out that, according to evidence from family members as well as the accused, the Van Breda's were a close-knit family who had no enemies.

Judge Desai outlined the broad extent of measures that secured the De Zalze Estate where the family resided, as well as the positioning of the Van Breda house in a central part of the estate.

He said that according to evidence presented, all vehicles entering by the gate to the estate had been accounted for. The fence around the estate had also been checked and monitored, but no security breach occurred on the night of the murders.

The judge said that the murders were probably committed between 04:00 and 04:24 on the night of the murders. He said that an intruder would probably have had to hide on the estate for a number of hours before committing the crime, as no sign of a breach of security had been identified.

He detailed how an intruder would have had to proceed to the house, enter an open door, commit the murders, and leave without an alarm being activated, an unlikely scenario in what witnesses contended was possibly the safest estate in Stellenbosch.

After hearing all accounts, the judge said the court agreed with the prosecution that it was highly unlikely the perpetrator entered from outside the estate.

Judge Desai then discussed Henri van Breda's call to an emergency response centre and commented on the lack of urgency exhibited by him.

The judge then detailed inconsistencies in Henri van Breda's cross-examination with regards to his awareness of the fact that certain members of his families were dead, as well as with regards to his claim that he had lost consciousness during this period.

He pointed out the delay of approximately 2 hours and forty minutes between the time of the attacks and the call to an emergency number. 

He found Henri van Breda's explanation that he had lost conscious during this time to be unconvincing, and presented expert evidence indicating that Van Breda did not have injuries consistent with losing consciousness due to a bump on the head and the resulting blood loss. If he lost consciousness due to shock, expert witnesses indicated he would have regained consciousness within minutes.

With regards to the defence case that the accused sustained a concussion and not a blood injury, the judge cited a neurosurgeon expert witness, who indicated the unlikelihood of this not being picked up in an MRI scan. However, he also indicated that the specialist was not able to be definitive that this length of consciousness-loss could not have occurred.

The judge discussed Henri van Breda's claim that he had fallen down the stairs, resulting in certain injuries to his body. He referred to Captain Coetzee's evidence that these injuries probably occurred while the accused was standing, and not during a fall.

Judge Desai also noted that the accused had no history of seizures prior to the incident. 

Although a witness for the accused, Dr Butler, had determined that Henri van Breda suffered from epilepsy, the court made no finding in this regard as it did not find it relevant.

The judge noted that the accused gave a detailed account of the scene to police and to emergency services, which contradicted that he had no recollection of events.

Judge Desai said Henri van Breda's actions indicated an accused with an acute awareness of the events that had transpired, and loss of consciousness of two hours and forty minutes was unlikely.

Van Breda has pleaded not guilty to killing his father, mother, and brother.

Van Breda claims a masked intruder attacked his family with an axe.

He also mentioned hearing other voices in the house, leading to speculation there may have been more than one intruder.

He says he engaged in a scuffle with the attacker.

Later in the trial, the 23-year-old was diagnosed with myoclonic juvenile epilepsy.

In a twist, a neurologist for the defence said van Breda suffered an epileptic seizure shortly after the attacks on his family.

The defence argued this explains his loss of consciousness, shortly after the attacker escaped.

The blood of Marli van Breda – the accused’s sister – does not appear on the murder weapon.

This remains a major question in the trial and the defence says the state has no explanation for this.

To explain the missing blood, the defence introduced the possibility of a second murder weapon, used to carry out the attacks on the family.

Presiding judge, Siraj Desai has been quite vocal during the trial, even more so when the accused took the stand.

eNCA