Cape Town - The Western Cape High Court has postponed judgment in the trial of triple murder accused Henri Van Breda to May 21.
The verdict was set to be delivered on April 23, but on Tuesday Judge Mushtak Parker postponed the matter without providing a reason for the month long delay.
Judge Siraj Desai, who has presided over the trial, was not at court.
Despite "speculation in certain quarters that Judge Desai has been replaced", Judge Parker said this was not the case, nor had he been "temporarily taken off the case".
"Nothing can be further from the truth".
He said Van Breda should be relieved as "generally in life, its better the devil you know than the devil you don't".
Van Breda is accused of murdering his parents, Martin and Teresa, and older brother Rudi. He faces a charge of attempted murder for the attack on his sister Marli, who was 16-years-old at the time, and who the State argued survived because of a "miracle" rather than a lesser attack.
The attack in the family home in the De Zalze, Stellenbosch security estate in January 2015, shocked the country, and the sensational trial has dominated headlines ever since.
Van Breda claimed a laughing, axe-wielding intruder, also armed with a knife, and wearing a balaclava and gloves was behind the vicious attacks and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.