A former Perth schoolboy convicted of slaying his wealthy parents and brother and maiming his sister in a frenzied axe attack, shared a smile with his girlfriend as he received three life sentences.
Henri van Breda, 23, claimed it was a masked intruder who killed his brother Rudi and parents Martin and Teresa, while leaving sister Marli with near-fatal injuries to her head, neck and throat at the family’s South African home in January 2015.
Van Breda was devoid of emotion during his sentencing on Thursday, except for the several smiles he shared with girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensburg, who returned his affections from the public gallery.
Van Breda (pictured) was devoid of emotion during his sentencing on Thursday, except for the several smiles he shared with girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensburg
Girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensburg returned his affections from the public gallery (pictured)
The former Perth schoolboy (left) claimed it was a masked intruder who killed his brother Rudi (centre) and parents Martin (right) and Teresa (centre right), while leaving sister Marli (centre left) with near-fatal injuries to her head, neck and throat
Van Breda’s girlfriend, Ms Rensburg, has maintained her boyfriend’s innocence throughout the length of the trial.
Ms Rensburg insisted van Breda was not capable of the violent murders he was convicted of.
‘He told me that if I had any questions I can ask him and he’ll be honest with me,’ she told You magazine in 2016.
‘Anyone who spends a day with him will realise he couldn’t do such a thing. I believe in his innocence 100 per cent.’
Judge Siraj Desai denounced this defense and found the former Scotch College student guilty of three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of misleading justice.
‘Each murderous attack on a family member is a severe crime and warrants the severest punishment,’ judge Desai told the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town.
Van Breda was also jailed for 15 years for the attempted murder of his sister, who was just 16 at the time.
Van Breda’s younger sister Marli (pictured) is the sole survivor of the attack, suffering a severed jugular. She is apparently unable to remember the incident, and therefore unable to testify against her brother
Henri Van Breda arrives with his partner Danielle Janse Van Rensburg at the Western Cape High Court to hear the verdict in his trial for allegedly killing his two parents, brother and maiming his sister with an axe in their luxury home
Judge Siraj Desai told van Breda that ‘The attacks displayed a high level of savage and innate cruelty… the strictest penalties apply’
Henri van Breda (pictured) was handed three life sentences for killing his parents and brother and a 15-year term for the attempted murder of his sister
‘You have committed crimes of unbridled violence against your own family, killing three and causing serious injuries to the fourth who was fortunate to survive,’ said judge Desai.
‘The victims were unarmed and defenceless and it was a cold-blooded murder and the violence was excessive and gratuitous and the intention was clearly to kill them.
‘We have no explanation for what you did and you have shown no remorse… although you are relatively young and have no previous convictions your conduct warrants the severest penalties.
‘The attacks displayed a high level of savage and innate cruelty and almost unprecedented disregard for the welfare of your parents and siblings. The strictest penalties apply. Society expects no less’.
Van Breda remained completely emotionless in court as the sentence was handed down
The grisly murder took place in the early hours of the morning at the family’s luxury villa on the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate, at Stellenbosch.
The estate boasts electric fencing around the entire perimeter, as well as security gates, 24-hour dog patrols and CCTV surveillance.
Van Breda told the court that he ‘watched helplessly’ from a bathroom as a masked man, laughing hysterically, butchered his family with an axe.
When the attacker turned on him, van Breda claimed he disarmed the man and fought with him before the assassin fled the scene.
The grisly murder took place in the early hours of the morning at the family’s luxury villa on the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate, at Stellenbosch (pictured)
During the trial, van Breda described ‘watching helplessly’ from a bathroom as a masked man, laughing hysterically, butchered his family with an axe
Martin, Theresa and Rudi all died from deep wounds to their head and upper body, while Marli suffered a severed jugular.
She is allegedly unable to remember the incident, and therefore unable to testify against her brother.
In his summary, judge Desai raised multiple questions about the defence case.
‘The court is in agreement that it is highly unlikely that the security was breached by an intruder from outside the estate,’ Desai said.
‘The accused could not say how the security was breached (and) confirmed that he never felt insecure, unsafe or threatened while living on the estate.’
The judge questioned why van Breda did not immediately call for help afterwards, but instead called his girlfriend (pictured) and slept
Desai also noted the axe and a knife used in the attack were both kept in the house.
He said it was ‘peculiar’ that an attacker would butcher an entire family, but leave one person in the corner of the room before going after him.
Another ‘odd’ detail, Desai said, was why such a hardened killer as van Breda described would have fled after being disarmed, despite more weapons being in the house.
The judge questioned why van Breda did not immediately call for help afterwards, but instead called his girlfriend and slept.
When van Breda did eventually call the emergency services, two hours and 40 minutes after the attack, he ‘displayed a peculiar lack of empathy’, Desai said.
‘If the accused’s intention was to be helped as soon as possible, it does not explain why he first called his girlfriend, a minor schoolgirl residing in a hostel, several times from his mobile phone,’ Desai said.
Van Breda said he had survived the attack with superficial stab wounds inflicted after he wrestled with the attacker who was trying to slit his throat, and claims he then fell unconscious
During his evidence, van Breda had claimed he was in the toilet when he saw the masked intruder attacking his family.
He said he had survived the attack with superficial stab wounds inflicted after he wrestled with the attacker who was trying to slit his throat, and then fell unconscious.
The state insisted the wounds were self-inflicted.
‘The accused testified that he was unaware of anyone with grudges against the family,’ Desai said.
‘The accused testified that he could not think of a reason… why the intruder did not simply remove valuables from the house.
‘The accused denied having any serious arguments with his family and stated that there was nothing out of the ordinary the night before the attack.’
Judge Siraj Desai denounced the former Scotch College student’s defense and found him guilty of three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of misleading justice
Henri’s father, Martin, made a substantial fortune as the Managing Director of an international real estate company, and was estimated to be worth about $21 million Australian dollars.
Murderous Henri won’t be inheriting one cent from the family estate, however, as he is not allowed under South African law to benefit financially from his crime.
This means the family fortune will instead go to Marli: the surviving sister whom allegedly recalls nothing of the incident, and whom told investigators her brother always ‘treated her like a princess’.
Henri will no longer be inheriting one cent from his family’s $21 million dollar estate, as he is not allowed under South African law to benefit financially from his crime
Before sentencing on Thursday, prosecutor Susan Galloway pointed out that ‘There is no remorse or explanation and [van Breda] does not show sympathy for his sister, who has lost everything. Nothing will be the same again for her.
‘Despite her age she has to go through her whole life with the knowledge that her brother killed her whole family and tried to kill her – the same brother who she said treated her like a princess.
‘The accused was part of a close knit family with no financial problems and they all had bright futures ahead of them, but he executed the attack when the family were at their most vulnerable in bed’.
A defence advocate had called for a ‘merciful’ sentencing, arguing that van Breda was ‘barely 20’ when he killed his family – but the judge described the verdict as ‘inescapable’
Van Breda remained emotionless as the sentence was handed down.
He was led away by court officers as his girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensburg watched on from the public gallery.
Defence advocate Pieter Botha had called for a ‘merciful’ sentencing, arguing that van Breda was a first-time offender who was ‘barely 20’ when he killed his family.
The judge described the verdict as ‘inescapable’.
He was led away by court officers as his girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensburg (pictured) watched on from the public gallery
Last week, van Breda was attacked by five inmates while making his way back to the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison, located 22km outside of Cape Town.
Another prisoner ripped a metal condom dispenser from a wall and used it as a weapon to fend off van Breda’s attackers.
‘Henri said [his attack] was a terrifying, horrible experience,’ said van Breda’s attorney Lorinda van Niekerk after visiting her client on Friday morning.
Pollsmoor is notorious for overcrowding, poor health conditions, gang violence and rape.
Cells built to take 30 men are often filled with up to 80 prisoners, most of whom are forced to sleep on the floor.
Conditions there were recently described as ‘profoundly disturbing’ by a constitutional judge.
Van Breda will not spend the rest of his life behind the walls of Pollsmoor Prison. Located 22km outside of Cape Town, the jail is notorious for overcrowding, poor health conditions, gang violence and rape