Cape Town - The teen who survived a triple axe killing in Stellenbosch has finally opened up, revealing that her murdered brother and parents are those she loves the most.
Notably absent from Marli van Breda’s declaration on social media was her brother Henri, 20, the only member of the family to have escaped the attack. He sustained minor injuries.
In the first glimpse of what Marli, 16, is going through, she took to social media to post two photographs of her father Martin, mother Teresa and brother Rudi, all of whom were killed in the January 27 attack.
She captioned the pictures: “The people that I love the most.”
Marli did not mention, or include any photographs of Henri.
Her posts on social media are the first she has made publicly since the murders.
Martin van Breda, 55, an international businessman, Teresa, 54, and Rudi, 22, were killed inside their upmarket home on the De Zalze Golf Estate. Marli sustained an axe wound to her head and a severed jugular.
No arrests have been made.
Marli was at first hospitalised, then admitted to a rehabilitation centre, from where she was recently discharged.
She posted the two photographs on social media about a week ago.
One showed Rudi and Martin van Breda standing next to each other, smiling on what appeared to be a boat.
The second photograph showed Marli standing alongside her parents, all three of them smiling. A number of people commented on the photographs, urging Marli to keep strong and saying she was an inspiration.
She then replied: “You guys inspire me.”
Marli thanked those who wished her well.
Last week it emerged that Marli, who has a form of amnesia and apparently does not remember the attack, had visited her school, Somerset College, for the first time since the incident as she tried to get her life back to normal.
Henri, who had initially stayed with relatives in Cape Town, has apparently since gone to Johannesburg.
In March the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) received the case docket.
Weekend Argus understands the docket has since been returned to police for further investigation.
Asked about the docket this week, NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said: “The investigation is ongoing and unfortunately the NPA does not comment on an ongoing investigation.”
Provincial police, who have consistently refused to divulge any information aside from basic details about the case, did not respond to a Weekend Argus query about the investigation.
Weekend Argus