A South African man who murdered his parents and brother with an axe has been sentenced to life in prison.
Henri van Breda, 23, was also given 15 years for the attempted murder of his teenage sister, Marli, during the frenzied January 2015 attack.
Sitting in the High Court, Judge Siraj Desai said the “cold-blooded murders” had been carried out with “excessive and gratuitous violence”.
Van Breda’s defence lawyer has applied for leave to appeal.
Some believe he did it was to inherit his father’s multi-million dollar estate, but this was never proven.
Whatever the motive, investigators and South Africans alike have been left shocked by the violent nature of the attack.
‘Close-knit family’
Martin and Teresa van Breda were found in a pool of blood on the first floor of their home on the De Zalze Golf Estate on the morning of 27 January 2015.
Close by was the body of their 22-year-old son Rudi and their 16-year-old daughter Marli, who was fighting to stay alive. Van Breda, meanwhile, had sustained only minor injuries.
The attacker had moved quickly and determinedly.
The Western Cape High Court agreed that the extent of the injuries meant that the assailant had intended to kill.
Van Breda gave a statement to police soon after the incident saying that a well-built black intruder was to blame.
He described a man wearing gloves and a balaclava breaking into the family home.
BBC
