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

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 2m2 minutes ago

Kleynhans: but how do I describe someone who is in that state? He looked traumatized to me. #VanBreda

 

[JudgeJudi]

EWN Reporter@ewnreporter · 51s52 seconds ago

Kleynhans asks how he was supposed to describe Henri when he saw him standing in bloodied shorts & socks? GG

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 14s14 seconds ago

Botha continuing his cross examination of Kleynhans.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

So Botha thinks Kleynhans should have treated HvB immediately as a victim and comfort him instead of being a good cop, treading cautiously, having his gun drawn. This was a murder scene! Phfft!

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 3m3 minutes ago

Botha: you gave a statement with a certain goal in mind in court which was not the case of what Henri looked like when you saw him.

Kleynhans refuses to respond to that statement by Botha.

 

[JudgeJudi]

EWN Reporter‏Verified account @ewnreporter · 6m6 minutes ago

#VanBreda Kleynhans says he had no idea what he would find at the crime scene as he had only been told there had been an axe attack. GG

And he found poor HvB ... with scratches.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 2m2 minutes ago

Botha tackling certain inconsistencies in statement given at scene and the testimony given in court re: if back door was open.

Court adjourned for tea. Kleynhans seems to be struggling during cross examination by Botha.

 

[JudgeJudi]

EWN Reporter @ewnreporter · 12m12 minutes ago

Botha: "Can you give us a reason why you're telling the court a lie?"

Desai urges Kleynhans to listen carefully to the defence and answer the question. Kleynhans wrote back door was ajar. GG

 

[Interested Bystander]

This is a good article by journalist, Mike Behr. He has access to the photographs taken by police of the Van Breda's home and gives a commentary as the images move from room to room. There's a detailed description of the bodies and injuries and where they lay.
Martin was lying across Rudi's bed clutching a pillow and Rudi was lying at the foot of Henri's bed.



http://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/images-will-stay-beyond-trials-end-8866661

A great article. Very disturbing. No idea now which "handed" HVB is. His sister's injuries definitely suggest right-handedness.

To me, there seems to be one glaring omission. Only HVB bloodied footprints! Surely the intruder also would have stepped in blood and left a trail?

Was the axe easily available? Surely, given the history of murders in SA, an axe (newly sharpened) would have been safely locked away. Where was it kept and was it normally under lock and key? Looks to me as though HVB killed his brother first, then his father who came to see what was happening, then mum and sister.

Prime, many thanks for the link. Very interesting indeed.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Yes IB, First Rudi, then father and mother.

 

[JudgeJudi]

News24

Botha takes exception for journalists paging through the photo evidence in the courtroom bundle. Prosecutor Susan Galloway says media may not publish, video or take photos of it but may look because it's a public document.

Of course he'd take objection. He'd rather no-one saw those photos. Public photos but no-one should see them?

 

[JudgeJudi]

EWN Reporter‏ @ewnreporter · 4m4 minutes ago

Trial resumes after a short break. Botha tells Desai members of the press looked through the crime scene photos during break. MM

Desai asks media not to publish any details of the contents of the book, esp images of youngest sibling Marli van Breda. MM

Botha now continues to go through Kleynhans statement of what he found at the crime scene. MM

 

[JudgeJudi]

EWN Reporter‏Verified account @ewnreporter · 2m

Kleynhans says he admitted to making a mistake by saying #VanBreda was traumatized, but he didn't want to mislead court. MM

Kleynhans says it's human to forget things, esp since incident happened a few years ago. MM

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 12m12 minutes ago

Botha to Kleynhans: Either your memory isn't that good from the day of the murders or you misled the court. Which one?

Kleynhans: Memory is a difficult thing. I know what happened when I arrived on scene.

Kleynhans: I didn't mislead the court.I made a mistake because my memory of the event is hard to recall small details

 

[JudgeJudi]

The officer said the ground floor of the home was immaculate - except for a few cigarette butts on the kitchen floor, which he found "strange".

On the counter was an "expensive handbag" containing a wallet filled with cash, a laptop plugged into the wall socket and no sign that anyone had tried to force entry into the house or steal anything.

When he reached the top of the stairs he found the horror of what had happened - dead bodies and one person injured.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes...reda-Laughing-intruder-slaughtered-my-family1

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 4m4 minutes ago

You cant say that no break took place from what you saw, there could have been something missing that you didn't know was there..
Botha continues to cross examine Kleynhans, asking him to look at photo evidence of an open safe in #VanBreda family home and open drawers.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Seriously, what intruder is going to leave a wallet filled with cash behind. Talk about making mountains out of molehills.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Anthony Molyneaux‏ @AJGMolyneaux 4m4 minutes ago

You cant say that no break took place from what you saw, there could have been something missing that you didn't know was there..
Botha continues to cross examine Kleynhans, asking him to look at photo evidence of an open safe in #VanBreda family home and open drawers.

How could an intruder possibly open the safe? Will Botha suggest that Martin left it wide open when he went to bed that night. He was apparently extremely conscious of security.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

EWN Reporter‏Verified account @ewnreporter 6m6 minutes ago

Botha says Kleynhans was wrong about what colour shorts the accused was wearing. K says it looked grey to him. B says it wasn't. MM

 

[PrimeSuspect]

EWN Reporter‏Verified account @ewnreporter 17m17 minutes ago

Botha asks Kleynhans how he knew a handbag found in house was expensive. Does he have experience in handbags? *laughs in court