CAPE TOWN, August 14 (ANA) – A blood spatter expert, due to testify in the Western Cape High Court on Monday in the trial of triple murder accused Henri van Breda, was unable to attend court proceedings as he was ill.
Judge Siraj Desai postponed the case to Tuesday when a forensic expert, warrant officer Lorraine Nel, due to testify next week will take the stand instead.
Twenty-two-year-old Henri van Breda allegedly murdered his mother, father and older brother on January 27, 2015. His sister Marli, who was 16- years-old at the time, survived the attack. Van Breda has claimed that a laughing, axe-wielding intruder, wearing gloves, a balaclava and dark clothing, was behind the brutal attack.
Before the adjournment, defence advocate Pieter botha placed on record that Afrikaans newspaper Rapport printed an article with “gross inaccuracies” on Sunday. He said the article stated that “Henri’s DNA was found under his mother Theresa’s nails” which had not been the testimony of forensic expert Lieutenant-Colonel Sharlene Otto last week.
Judge Desai appealed to the media to report accurately as “wrong reporting leads to wrong perceptions”.
Last week, Otto testified that no “unknown DNA” had been found in the 216 samples her laboratory analysed.
She told the court that “every touch leaves a trace” in accordance with the “Locard principle”.
But conceded: “If I wear personal protective equipment, gloves, a balaclava, if I cover my body and come in and go out, I won’t leave a trace. The crime scene may leave a trace on me”.
Otto told the court that nail scrapings taken from Henri’s left hand contained the mixed DNA of himself, his mother Teresa and his brother Rudi.
She also testified that blood found in the corner of the shower floor was a mixture of DNA profiles – Rudi’s, Teresa’s and Henri’s.
Captain Marius Joubert from the police’s forensic laboratory will testify about blood spatter patterns on Monday.
– African News Agency (ANA)
