The grey shorts murder-accused Henri van Breda was wearing on the night his mother, father and brother were murdered had 67 blood spatter stains on them.
Captain Marius Joubert, a blood spatter expert at the police’s forensic science laboratory, told the Western Cape High Court yesterday that he examined a number of exhibits from the crime scene at 12 Goske street in the De Zalze security estate in Stellenbosch.
Of the 67 bloodstains found on the front of Van Breda’s shorts, DNA results showed that 35 were from his brother Rudi, five were from his father Martin, and there was a mixture of stains that included his mother Teresa’s DNA, Joubert testified.
He told the court that these stains were probably the result of contact with a bloodstained object.
Joubert is the State’s final witness in the case against 22-year-old Van Breda, who has been charged with the January 2015 axe killings of his mother, father and brother as well as the attempted murder of his sister Marli, who was 16 at the time.
Joubert also received a pair of white socks worn by Henri which had “multiple blood spatter stains”.
He said force had been applied to the source, travelled through the air and landed on the socks.
He said 17 blood cuttings were taken from the socks; nine samples came from Rudi, one from Martin, one from Teresa and two from Henri.
A blue T-shirt found half under Henri’s bed was also taken for analysis. Joubert told the court that from 12 cuttings, five were profiled. The blood came from Rudi.
In the bedroom Henri shared with Rudi, the blood spatter pattern was in directional angles, suggesting they were “caused by force” to Rudi while he was still in bed.
Joubert said blood on the shower floor belonged to Henri, Rudi and Teresa.
He told the court a chemical spray revealed blood spatter on the shower door, handle, floor and wall.
Henri has pleaded not guilty on all counts.