It was “highly unlikely” that the axe used to kill the Van Breda family could have struck a wall in the manner that it did if it was thrown, as murder accused Henri van Breda said it had in his plea explanation.
Forensics expert Captain Candice Brown collected evidence from the scene at the De Zalze estate home of the family and recrea-
ted how the bloodied axe, with damage to the blade consistent with it being struck against the wall, could have chipped a piece of the concrete.
EXAMINED: Recreation of how axe could have chipped wall
Henri claims an axe-wielding man attacked his family, and he had fought him off.
He said he had thrown the axe at the attacker as he was escaping the house.
But Brown said the impact was consistent with a controlled movement.
In her report from the scene, Brown noted there was “one impact mark with damage consistent with that caused by a controlled, sharp-edged tool movement, into the right-hand side edge, adjacent to the front entrance doorway”.
Responding to State prosecutor Susan Galloway’s question about whether the mark could’ve been made by throwing the axe, Brown said the tool was not a throwing axe and there was a one in four chance of it causing the damage it had.
“The possibility is there,” Brown said.
“Possible, but highly unlikely,” she added.
Controlled impacts had “certainty of direction”, Brown explained, while “uncontrolled” impacts were able to be distinguished by a lack of certainty of direction and restraints.
Pieter Botha, for the defence, asked that his cross-examination of Brown be postponed until his forensics expert was present today.
Henri is accused of the murder of his brother Rudi, father Martin, mother Teresa and the attempted murder of his sister Marli in January 2015.