Cape Town – It was "highly unlikely" that the axe used in the Van Breda family murders could have struck a wall in the manner that it did if it was thrown, as Henri van Breda said it had in his plea explanation.
Forensics expert Captain Candice Brown collected evidence from the scene of the De Zalze family murders and recreated how the bloodied axe, with damage to the blade consistent with it being struck against the wall, could have chipped a piece of the concrete.
In his plea explanation, triple murder-accused Henri said he had thrown the axe at the attacker as he was escaping the house.
But Brown said the impact was consistent with a controlled movement.
In her report from the scene Brown noted that “one impact mark with damage consistent with that caused by a controlled, sharp-edged tool movement, into the right-hand side edge, adjacent to the front entrance doorway”.
Responding to State prosecutor Susan Galloway's question about whether the mark could've been made by throwing the axe, Brown said the tool was not a throwing axe and there was a one in four chance of it causing the damage it had.
"The possibility is there," Brown said. "Possible, but highly unlikely," she added.
Controlled impacts had "certainty of direction", Brown explained, while "uncontrolled" impacts were able to be distinguished by a lack of certainty of direction and restraints.
Pieter Botha, for the defence, asked that his cross-examination of Brown be postponed until his forensics expert was present on Tuesday.
Brown is expected to return to the stand on Tuesday morning.
Henri stands accused of the murder of his brother Rudi, father Martin, mother Teresa and the attempted murder of his sister Marli.