According to his brother Henri van Breda, who stands accused of the murder, he had heard Rudi gurgle, said Defence expert Reggie Perumal on Thursday.
Perumal was continuing the cross-examination of state witness Captain Joubert in the Western Cape High Court.
The blood spatter expert had testified that Rudi was killed on his bed and was later moved to where police found him on the floor, pointing to bloody swipe marks on the floor.
He said looking at Rudi’s blood flow pattern, he did not move after he was attacked. He said the amount of blood indicates that Rudi had died on the bed.
However Perumal argued that Rudi might have moved himself following the attack.
He said blood on his face suggests Rudi was lying on a pillow when the bleeding started. There was also a pool of blood on the floor.
Joubert conceded that Rudi may have been alive after the attack. He said at one stage Rudi had also laid on his back on floor, resulting in gravity flow. Police found him lying on his stomach.
During his cross examination Advocate Botha asks why Henri would have manipulated only Rudi Van Breda's position.
Joubert said the attacker had “a lot of anger” towards Rudi.
He conceded that Rudi’s bloody fingermarks on the base of the bed could have been made by himself.
Asked how moving Rudi's body would corroborate Henri's version of events, that he saw his brother being killed in his bed, Joubert said he didn’t know.
Botha said for him moving Rudi’s body is “illogical.”
Henri is accused of killing Rudi and his parents Martin and Teresa with an axe in their home in Stellenbosch in 2015.
The matter continues on Monday.