South Africa - Martin, 55, Theresa, 54, Rudi van Breda, 22, murdered, 26 Jan 2015 #2

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PrimeSuspect said:
Also, could a drug be undetected by their drug lab, a new drug on the market? Or was he tested more than 24 hrs later. Hmmm

The constricted pupils? Question for anyone, Botha mentioning again HvB's pupils, is this with natural light because if a light is shone in the eyes, the pupil constricts.
Click to expand...

This is the best article I've seen to date on testing for marijuana. As you'll see, it's presence in the body depends on certain things and we'll have no way of knowing whether he used it or not.

http://calculator.marijuanacentral.com/how-long-can-a-drug-test-detect-cannabis-usage/
 
There were shoe prints that had been cleaned away but still showed up after the forensic officer used amido black (I think). This can show shoe prints after the blood has been visibly washed away. I think they are then called latent shoe prints. Given there is a mop and some cloths on the line, presumably containing blood products (or why would they become evidence), this should put another nail in the HvB coffin. The housekeeper will have used them but not for cleaning up blood! I would bet that B will find some way of explaining away the evidence if he can.
 
PrimeSuspect said:
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=#vanbreda&src=typd

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 2m2 minutes ago

Botha now asks what Col. Beneke spoke to DrT about when he handed over the photos etc. for assessment.
Dr T says it was a normal conversation. Nothing unusual.
@TimesLIVE


Tracey Stewart‏ @Traceyams 3m3 minutes ago

Adv B why would you think I was implying it is unusual Dr T doesn't know how to respond to that
Adv B: Regarding your evidence on head injuries and concussion do u agree a neurologist would be better placed
yes but as a pathologist we often deal with the after math of head injuries concussion so we can comment in general
Adv B: the injury on left eye couldve resulted in concussion Dr T agrees it could have
Adv B: My client tried to google emergency services and spelling wasn't right is that a sign of concussion

Dr T: no as he was still performing a goal directed activity trying to get hold of emergency services

@CapeTownEtc
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Re. the bolded - when I read that, I typed "ermgncys srveci" into Google. NO idea how Henri spelled it, but I figured that was sufficiently messed up. google came back with "showing results for Emergency Services". He may have typed in Afrikaans, but, anyway, Google is pretty good at picking up mis-spellings. Also, I looked it up, and the number for an ambulance would be 999. Police 10111. This case makes me cranky.
 
Sorry I did not include the links to my tweets.
 
I was just thinking that you would have made good lawyers with your suspicious minds. Pity you cannot send your thoughts to Galloway!

Will Galloway address some of these in her closing remarks or when she cross-examines the Defence? Hopefully both.

By the way, did you notice that in Henri's statement, he said he had no idea how long he had been unconscious but Botha claimed that Henri regained consciousness exactly 2 hours 40 minutes after seeing his mother and Marli? Was Henri wearing a watch at the time and had the presence of mind to check it before and afterwards?

I have been wondering whether Henri could have worn a balaclava and gloves himself so his family would not recognise him but where would the balaclava and gloves be now? Down the toilet before he emptied his bowels?
 
Estelle, those are great points in your post.

As for disposing of the balaclava and gloves, thin latex gloves would easily flush down the toilet. He'd probably need to cut the balaclava up into pieces, but yes, they too could have been disposed of the same way at whatever time was convenient to do so. I've read of some amazing things being flushed down toilets.
 
Is the time possibly worked out as the gap between his uses of his phone?

I don't know if we've been given the times of these calls.
 
What irks me is the footage taken each afternoon of HvB skipping down the stairs of the courthouse without a care in the world. OISA
 
https://twitter.com/Traceyams

Tracey Stewart‏ @Traceyams 2m2 minutes ago @CapeTownEtc #vanbreda

Back in court and Adv G addresses the court on objections which the defense raised last night on reports by Dempers'
Dempers in court today and was there all day yesterday. Adv G is not 100% of actual objection the essence is b4 court
Adv B: issue is that Dempers referred to evidence of my client said on 27 January
Adv B:we tried to reach a compromise to allow state to lead portions of evidence without hearing a trial within trial
 
Professor Johan Dempers expected to testify. Defence is objecting to certain parts of his report, Adv Galloway says the admissibility is being challenged.

Adv Botha says Dempers makes extensive reference to what Henri said to police in his statement the day of the murders.

Both have inadmissible hearsay and character evidence, he argues.

Botha says they tried to reach an agreement with the State so that it would not result in a trial within a trial.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/live-van-breda-axe-murder-trial-day-17-20170524
 
The trial-within-a-trial procedure is, of course, one designed to cater for the accused's right to a fair trial in order to ensure that questions of admissibility and of guilt are distinguished from each other and decided separately.
At the end of the State case an accused is entitled to know exactly what evidence will be put into the scale against him, albeit that he is not entitled to know the weight the Court would attach to the evidence. An accused needs to have the freedom to decide whether he wants to testify on the merits in the main trial and the only mechanism which to questions of admissibility is a trial-within-a-trial.

http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/1999/3.html
 
https://twitter.com/Traceyams

AdvB: We will need to ask your lordship to make a finding on admissibility of evidence of what my client said on 27.01
Judge Desai - can we not deal with his report and exclude the evidence in issue?

@CapeTownEtc
 
In case you’re all wondering what a trial within a trial is, in Oz, and probably the UK, it’s known as a voir dire. They had one in the Panayiotou trial and it was quite lengthy. This will explain what it is.

A voir dire is commonly referred to as a "trial within a trial". It’s a hearing in which a court determines questions of fact and law after hearing evidence from witnesses.

A witness's evidence on a voir dire does not form part of the evidence in the trial or hearing. It’s conducted so that a judge can decide, when evidence has been objected to, whether that evidence is to be admitted or not to be admitted.
 
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