Cape Town - It's D-Day for triple-murder accused Henri van Breda as the Western Cape High Court is expected to deliver judgment today.
Henri is accused of bludgeoning his parents, Martin and Teresa, and his older brother Rudi, to death by axe on January 27, 2015.
He also faces a charge of attempted murder for an attack on his sister Marli, who was 16 years old at the time and now suffers from retrograde amnesia.
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In June 2016 Henri handed himself over to police and was released on bail of R100 000 after appearing in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court before magistrate Lungelo Juma.
In a plea explanation, Van Breda denied he committed the crimes and said an attacker wearing a balaclava broke into their house that night and carried out the crimes.
He said in the lead-up to their murders there was nothing out of the ordinary, and he and his father and brother had watched Star Trek 2 before retiring to bed.
At some point after they went to bed, Henri said he went to the bathroom, and that’s when he suddenly heard several banging sounds.
He said when he exited the bathroom, he saw a person attacking Rudi with what appeared to be an axe.
He initially stood frozen before his father entered and was also attacked, he testified.
The alleged perpetrator then went on to attack his mother and sister, he said.
At the start of his trial, the critical issue of a breach of an electric fence took centre stage.
The defence charged it was possible, while security guards denied it was.
The State and the defence presented their cases over several months, with both calling expert witnesses to testify.
Van Breda is being represented by Pieter Botha, who was part of Shrien Dewani’s legal team, and the State prosecutor is Susan Galloway.
Judge Siraj Desai was initially expected to deliver his verdict on April 23, but it was later postponed to Monday.