FINGERPRINTS and injuries sustained by murder accused Henri van Breda came into the spotlight as two expert State witnesses took the stand.
Marianne Tiemensman, the head of the forensic unit at the Victoria Hospital and police fingerprint specialist Jonathan Oliphant, were called as State witnesses in the Western Cape High Court this morning.
They testified in the triple murder trial, where Henri van Breda is accused of murdering his mother Teresa, his father Martin and his brother Rudi. Henri also stands accused of the attempted murder of his sister Marli who has subsequently suffered from retrograde amnesia.
Tiemensman an expert with close to 10 years experience testified that in her opinion, apart from his face, back and right leg, Henri's other injuries could have been self inflicted.
“The stab wounds could have been self inflicted, they were superficial and not fatal. It is unlikely the victim was attacked because there are no defense wounds,” Tiemensman testified.
On the fingerprints, Oliphant testified that there was no evidence found of activity outside the Van Breda home.
The defence pointed out that there were fingerprints found on the scene, that were not identified.
To which Oliphant agreed.