Cape Town – For the first time in the trial of the Van Breda murders, Henri van Breda broke down in court as the recording of his call to Janine Philander, Emergency Communication Centre operator, was played.
It was a noticeable change from his usual demeanor throughout the trial.
Philander was further questioned by the state and the defense about the call, which she had previously categorised as the “one of the weirdest ever for me".
The audio of the call was played in court, in which Henri was heard asking for an ambulance first instead of the police. He is heard explaining that an intruder attacked his family with an axe, and that he needed an ambulance as his sister was still moving.
The audio went on to highlight the time that they had spent on the phone while trying to get emergency services out to the murder scene. Philander is heard trying to get through to police, waiting on the line for a minute with no answer before succeeding to reach them on her second attempt.
Defence lawyer Pieter Botha grilled Philander about her initial remarks that she had heard what “sounded to me like a giggle” at the start of the emergency call. Philander had said that she initially thought the call was a prank.
Botha stated that the accused had a speech impediment as child and went through speech therapy in which he was trained to speak slowly and clearly when nervous.
During the cross-examination, Botha put forth whether the giggle that Philander heard could in fact be Henri stuttering. She stuck to her evidence that she believed he had giggled.
"He sounded the same throughout the call, no up and down," she said.
Judge Desai stated that he had not heard a giggle, and when pressed, Philander said that while it sounded like a giggle to her it was open to interpretation. Desai stressed that her impression was her impression, but that people "can come up with their own impression".
Judge Desai asked about the percentage of prank calls the service received, and Philander revealed that between September 2016 and February 2017, there were 35 374 prank calls out of 238 350 calls handled.
The next witness called was Dr Georgina Albertse, who was the medical doctor from Stellenbosch District Hospital, who examined Henri’s injuries after the murders.
Albertse read out her report, in which she revealed that he had four cuts on his left arm, two cuts above his right nipple among other marks, two stab wounds to the left abdominal area, marks on his back along with swelling and a bruise on his left eye.
A look at the injuries Henri #VanBreda sustained on the night of the murders according to Dr Georgina Albertse. @IOl @TheCapeArgus pic.twitter.com/STOhIjhX9p
— Mr Idiosyncratic (@thelionmutters) May 17, 2017
She also said she had not noticed a strong smell of alcohol on him and saw nothing that indicated he was under the influence of any substance.
Albertse was repeatedly asked to comment on whether the marks Henri sustained were self-inflicted, but she said that when she was initially asked by police, she asked that another medical forensic expert be brought in to comment on the matter.
She said that while it was entirely possible the injuries could be self-inflicted, it was difficult for her to comment on it.
The trial will continue on Thursday in the Western Cape High Court. Henri has been charged with the murder of his parents and brother, and the attempted murder of his sister.
Cape Argus