It was one of 2015’s biggest stories, the van Breda family savagely attacked in their home on January 27 of last year in the exclusive De Zalze golf estate.
Father Martin, his wife Teresa and their son Rudi were hacked to death with an axe. The only survivors were daughter Marli and youngest son Henri, the former also suffering horrific wounds during the attack.
Now I really don’t think we need to rehash the ensuing media frenzy, although it’s fair to say that as more details emerged suspicion tended to fall on a certain family member.
Just take a look at a few of our stories HERE and HERE and HERE, then listen to a portion of the emergency call made by Henri in the aftermath of the attacks:
Does that not sound a little like a snigger / giggle after he says that his family is bleeding from the head at around the 35 second mark? I don’t know, you make your own mind up on that one.
So what’s happening on the legal front with regards someone being prosecuted? This from News24:
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is yet to make a decision on how to proceed with the Van Breda family murder case.
“We have received the docket from the police and we will study it with a view to taking a decision,” NPA Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazilila said…
Western Cape police told News24 on Tuesday that they were unable to reveal anything new regarding the case.
“Our investigators have given the De Zalze murder case their due attention. This case was also monitored by provincial detectives,” Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said.
“Please bear with us as we cannot divulge details of the investigation that has yet to be presented before a court of law.”
Traut could not speculate on when the investigation would be ready to go to court.
And what of Marli, how is she doing one year on from the horrible ordeal?
“Marli is doing very well. Her recovery has been nothing short of miraculous given the extent and severity of the injuries that she sustained,” [Marli’s legal curator Advocate Louise] Buikman said.
“She is very well physically. Mentally, she is also coping remarkably well.
“She is obviously terribly sad about the loss of her parents and her brother. [But] Marli and her family wish to grieve in private.
Buikman stressed that it was unlikely Marli would remember the events of that night one year ago, as she suffers from retrograde amnesia.
She also said the teen had started school again this year, is back with her friends, and has regular contact with Henri.
It seems just plain wrong that in an entire year no one has been brought to task for the attack. We can only hope at some point the wheels of justice are set in motion – the current state of limbo will do little to build faith in our legal system.
[source:news24]
