Cape Town - The conviction of triple axe murderer Henri van Breda was inescapable and the only reasonable inference to be made, the Western Cape High Court has found.
The court said it would not be in the interest of justice to grant leave to appeal against a criminal conviction.
This was part of the submission of senior State advocate Megan Blows in her answering affidavit filed on Friday at the Constitutional Court, where Van Breda was seeking leave to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Blows argued that there were also no reasonable prospects of success on appeal, and she wanted the apex court to dismiss Van Breda’s leave to appeal.
Van Breda was found guilty of killing his parents Martin and Teresa, and brother Rudi in their home at De Zalze Golf Estate in January 2015. His sister Marli escaped with serious head injuries.
In papers, Blows argued that the evidence presented in court was consistent with the finding that the applicant was the person who attacked his family, and that Van Breda’s version that the attack was carried out by the “balaclava” gang was not reasonably possibly true.
The conviction of triple axe murderer Henri van Breda was inescapable and the only reasonable inference to be made, the Western Cape High Court has found. Video: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
“Van Breda mentioned the ‘balaclava’ gang in support of his submission of the presence of unknown intruders. He failed to mention that the ‘balaclava’ gang had, at the time of the incident, been arrested”
With regards to the argument presented by Van Breda’s legal team about a breach of the security system, Blows said the system was upgraded in 2014, and there was no evidence of an unlawful entry and exit on the night.
Blows submitted that Van Breda clearly planned the attacks, and they were executed dolus directus (with direct intention) given the location and severity of the injuries, as well as the weapon used.
“For a lengthy period after the attacks Van Breda did nothing to save his family. The court was therefore correct in convicting Van Breda of the planned murders. The horrendous facts of the matter speak for themselves, and it therefore cannot be argued that the sentences imposed are either shockingly excessive or