Was it a giggle or a sob? Call centre operator says Van Breda sounded like a prankster

Was it a sob or a giggle? And why was he so calm when his family had been axed?

These were the questions asked in the Cape Town High Court yesterday after a recording of the chilling call that Henri van Breda made to emergency management services was played.

The call made on the morning of January 27 2015, when his parents and brother lay dead and his sister was fighting for her life.

Call centre operator Janine Philander testified that she was convinced that Van Breda's call was a prank because he was "hesitant", "cool as a cucumber", "calmly gave details of the attack" and set the tone early in the conversation with "a giggle".

• 'My sister is still moving': Van Breda breaks down as his emergency call is played in courtSullen-faced murder accused Henri Van Breda broke down in court on Wednesday as his emergency call was played.

Defence counsel Piet Botha argued that the sounds were merely her interpretations and claimed the "giggle" was a stuttered form of the word "please" in one instance and a sob in the other.

Philander: "It sounded to me like he was hesitant, that he was thinking of what to say."

Botha: "The fact that he remained polite is now working against him?"

Philander: "He sounded the same throughout the call, no up and down."

She said the initial moments "set the tone of the whole call" and she felt convinced it was a prank.

"Normally callers who phone in with this type of emergency set the tone.

• WATCH: Van Breda helps with sound system as court listens to emergency callHenri van Breda helped court staff to set up speakers on Wednesday so his triple-murder trial could hear the emergency call he made.

"There was no interruption, no comeback, no getting agitated and he didn't stop me at any time."

Botha said Van Breda stuttered as a child and had been coached to speak slowly and calmly as a technique to overcome this.

LISTEN: Van Breda's chilling emergency call

He also blamed social media for creating the perception that what he called a stutter on the tape was a "giggle" and said Philander had been influenced.

Philander confirmed the first giggle had always troubled her, but the second giggle had been brought to her attention by social media.

• 'I thought it was a prank call': Ambulance dispatcher tells Van Breda trial of Henri's 'giggle'Henri van Breda's behaviour when he called the emergency services was so atypical of a witness to murder that the responder on the other end of the line was convinced it was a prank call.

On hearing the clip again in court, she said: "It sounds even more like a giggle to me now."

Judge Siraj Desai said: "You get 70 to 100 calls a day. What percentage of those are prank calls?"

Philander said about 15% of all calls were prank: " Those are the ones who stay calm."