South Africa - Martin, 55, Theresa, 54, Rudi van Breda, 22, murdered, 26 Jan 2015 #1

[Interested Bystander]

Here are a couple of photos, maybe of interest. One is of Henri who was very fond of growing his hair very long. I think it quite likely to be around 200mm in places and one is of his girlfriend at the time (B). I have erased her face for obvious reasons. Her hair is long. She was seeing Henri at the time. Maybe some of her hair had been shed at the van Breda home. Grasping at "hairs" I suppose but this guy is so obviously guilty and I have a horrible suspicion that Botha will use his prowess in this type of case to bring in a not guilty verdict.

 

[JudgeJudi]

[Combrink will probably say Martin was half deaf and always turned the TV up extra loud. They were watching a movie.]

Combrink - we know the distance and that the window was closed.

Op't Hof says she didn't go out because it's not in her nature to put her nose in other people's business.

She stood up, and her table was near the door.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Here are a couple of photos, maybe of interest. One is of Henri who was very fond of growing his hair very long. I think it quite likely to be around 200mm in places and one is of his girlfriend at the time (B). I have erased her face for obvious reasons. Her hair is long. She was seeing Henri at the time. Maybe some of her hair had been shed at the van Breda home. Grasping at "hairs" I suppose but this guy is so obviously guilty and I have a horrible suspicion that Botha will use his prowess in this type of case to bring in a not guilty verdict.

I agree, HvB has his hair long generally, and yes, it could be his gf's hair too. I'm hating this bit now with the witnesses, I cringe every time they're made to look foolish!

 

[JudgeJudi]

Her house was quiet. When she heard it she stopped what she was doing, surprised.

It was loud and aggressive. It had an aggressive undertone.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 5m @TimesLIVE

Opt-Hof says she stands by her testimony that it was an aggressive&loud altercation. Couldn't hear what was being said though. Combrink asks if there were people staying on either side of her.Opt-Hof says yes but didn't know if they were there on the night.
Combrink asks the real question: how can you be sure the voices were from the van Breda home?
Opt-Hof goes into description of house. The angry voices came from the direction of the van Breda home. Thats what I heard. We're now going through Opt-Hof statement from the night of the murders.

Statement says Opt-Hof heard angry voices at 10pm.Came from 12 Goske Str. Neighbours of van Breda weren't present on the right and other neighbours were old so wouldn't have made sense to come from those homes. Opt-Hof reiterates yet again that she knows where the sound came from, it was the van Breda home. Combrink continues. Opt-Hof now says that sound specialist came to her home after murders to test if shouting could be picked up from van breda home. she says the specialist could pick up sound from her house.

 

[JudgeJudi]

She didn't know the other neighbours either, or the sound of their voices, Op't Hof says.

don't think they were there. Haven't seen any car or signs of them being home.

Combrink asked how she could say with certainty that it came from Van Breda house?

She says when she looked up and walked to the door, she could hear it was coming from in front of her. It came from the direction of the Van Breda house. Her brain registered that it came from there.

Combrink says she told police that she knew the Lockes - Martin Locke and his now wife - were older people and the other house was vacant.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[JudgeJudi]

In her statement to police, which is part of the evidence, she indicated that the people from the house on the right hadn't been home that year and those on the left were older people.

Insists that she heard it coming from 12 Goske Street, saying that the extra details was just that - extra details.

The day I told the police - Col Benecke - I could see he wasn't sure if he believed me. I told him I have nothing to gain form this, and don't want to be involved.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[JudgeJudi]

They sent audio specialists and tested it. Proved that it was coming from where I said it was.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 2m2 minutes ago @TimesLIVE

Opt-Hof sticking to her guns on this testimony. She seems sure of her story and she's not allowing Combrink to test her story.


Tracey Stewart‏ @Traceyams 1m1 minute ago

You are making a number of assumptions on which you have given this evidence? No I am telling you what I heard
Lets go back to playing something on a tv with two men and then having actual men screaming? in another room C says
Judge Desai- is this not speculation? Do u have a right to ask her if she could tell the difference on an observation. Judge Desai your questions must be logical they must be relevant

So if you hear a recording of your husband and his real voice will you know if it was a recording or his real voice? O- I dont understand the relevance. Desai agrees so does galloway

@CapeTownEtc

 

[JudgeJudi]

It makes sense when I look at the house that it came through the window, not through the walls or thick door.

Op't Hof seems exceptionally sure. Not letting Combrink refute her story.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[Estelle]

Netwerk24 Berig‏ @Netwerk24Berig 10m10 minutes ago

#HenriVanBreda: Op't Hof sê die huis het baie glas aan straat kant waar sy was. @janabreyt
Translated from Afrikaans

#HenriVanBreda Op't Court says: the House has a lot of glass to side where she was. @janabreyt

 

[JudgeJudi]

I wish Galloway had asked what language they were speaking/shouting in. Botha has twice asked for witnesses to speak in English for HvB’s benefit. This is smoke and mirrors because Afrikaans was spoken in the family home.

 

[Interested Bystander]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 5m @TimesLIVE

Opt-Hof says she stands by her testimony that it was an aggressive&loud altercation. Couldn't hear what was being said though. Combrink asks if there were people staying on either side of her.Opt-Hof says yes but didn't know if they were there on the night.
Combrink asks the real question: how can you be sure the voices were from the van Breda home?
Opt-Hof goes into description of house. The angry voices came from the direction of the van Breda home. Thats what I heard. We're now going through Opt-Hof statement from the night of the murders.

Statement says Opt-Hof heard angry voices at 10pm.Came from 12 Goske Str. Neighbours of van Breda weren't present on the right and other neighbours were old so wouldn't have made sense to come from those homes. Opt-Hof reiterates yet again that she knows where the sound came from, it was the van Breda home. Combrink continues. Opt-Hof now says that sound specialist came to her home after murders to test if shouting could be picked up from van breda home. she says the specialist could pick up sound from her house.

Oh dear. Where have we heard this before? Thank goodness something was heard but sound is affected by so many variables, eg temperature, humidity, direction of wind, if any, where the test voices were situated.

 

[Tortoise]

Films on TV have background sound effects and music. And if they were playing their TV that loud it would have been un-neighbourly. I wonder why Theresa didn't intervene, or if she did but her voice didn't carry across the road.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Combrink says Henri, Rudi and his Dad watched Star Trek 2 - lots of action and people screaming at each other. They watched it because they got a new sound system and they got the film for free.

He says if she heard anything, it was the film coming from the speakers.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 32s @TimesLIVE

Opt-Hof says she is dead certain that it wasn't a movie. It was angry voices in person. She doesn't agree with Henris statement...that there wasn't any argument that night. She says she knows what she heard so she doesn't agree with Henri.


Tracey Stewart‏ @Traceyams 18s18 seconds ago

C puts it to her that Henri says he did not hear any such argument that night. O doesn't agree with Henri at all


@CapeTownEtc #vanbreda


(How could HvB say he didn't hear an argument that night when their T.V was blasting?!!) BS!

 

[Estelle]

Tracey Stewart‏ @Traceyams 1m1 minute ago

@CapeTownEtc #vanbreda C puts it to her that Henri says he did not hear any such argument that night. O doesn't agree with Henri at all

 

[Interested Bystander]

I wish Galloway had asked what language they were speaking/shouting in. Botha has twice asked for witnesses to speak in English for HvB’s benefit. This is smoke and mirrors because Afrikaans was spoken in the family home.

Yes I agree. Henri himself during his statement what his mother shouted during the murders.

I wish Galloway would make her presence known a little more. She seems very unobtrusive (unless we are not being given a clear picture in the tweets). With Somebody like Botha one cannot allow him an "inch" of success. I live in hopes she has this all sewn up when she cross examines HvB, if not he will be another one who gets away with murder.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Op't Hof doesn't agree, says she knows Star Trek's theme. She says she heard no music.

[And the argument went for 2 hours. No music for that period, yeah, right]

Martin Locke in his statement said he heard nothing. Their domestic worker Dolores Van Wyk said she sometimes told them to quieten down when Mr Locke wanted to sleep due to loud music.

She says she doesn't know why they didn't hear it. She can only say what she had heard.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ay-12-20170516

 

[JudgeJudi]

The houses are so close together and the street isn't wide. It's ludicrous to suggest she couldn't say which house the voices were coming from.