Shrink to tell why Henri didn’t help
Image: Esa Alexander
Why would someone not help family members who have been brutally attacked with an axe?
This is a question a psychologist will answer early next week in the Henri van Breda triple axe murder trial.
Van Breda is accused of murdering his brother Rudi and parents Martin and Teresa, and leaving his sister Marli for dead in January 2015.
On Monday Van Breda told the High Court in Cape Town that he sat chain-smoking in the kitchen while waiting for emergency services to see to his family members, two of whom he claimed were still alive at the time.
He had not attempted to help family members allegedly "under attack" by an intruder in a balaclava.
His defence counsel said a psychologist would give evidence that there is no "typical" way of responding to being in a house where people have been savagely attacked.
The report, said advocate Piet Botha, would be given to the state and then the psychologist will give evidence.
Desai said on Tuesday he was not convinced this could enrich the understanding of the case but said he would reserve judgment on its validity until after the testimony.
On Tuesday Botha referred to a photograph which appeared to show Van Breda's claim that his dad worked on his laptop after supper on the fateful night was true. But Galloway has said he was tailoring evidence to "make [your] timeline work".
In his plea statement Van Breda said he, Rudi and their father watched Star Trek 2 at about 8pm. Earlier in the hearing a neighbour said she had heard an aggressive fight at 12 Goske Street, De Zalze, at 10pm. The defence argued it was the soundtrack of Star Trek 2 and not a fight.
Galloway said Van Breda introduced evidence of Martin working on his laptop after supper only to "make the timeline work" so that the sounds the neighbour heard happened during the movie.
On Tuesday Botha said two photographs after the attack showed "a laptop and certain open documents lying there" and said those could have been left there by Martin.
Earlier Botha asked questions about Van Breda's claims of a gloved attacker killing three family members then fleeing after a scuffle with Van Breda himself.
He asked who had a "better grip on the handle of the axe" between Van Breda and his attacker, who was "wearing gloves". Van Breda said he did since he had managed to "get the axe out of his grip".