The man alleged to have shot dead seven of his relatives on a farm in the Koue Bokkeveld in the Western Cape in February this year appeared briefly in the Ceres magistrate's court on Monday.
Johnny Jooste, 35, is alleged to have killed his wife Elmien and their two children, Sanjay, 3, and Blake, 6, as well as his wife's three sisters, Sophia Swarts, Janetta Jacobs and Cornelia Visagie.
Sophia's husband Barend also died in the shooting spree on the farm.
Jooste's 13-year-old daughter escaped harm and is the only surviving member of his immediate family.
Jooste, who worked on the farm as a tractor driver, handed himself over to a local schoolmaster after an intensive manhunt in the mountains of the Koue Bokkeveld.
Magistrate Kobus Lombaard postponed the case to November 15 when a date for a High Court hearing will be given. - Sapa