Blood spatter expert puts suspect at bedside of Van Breda's slain brother

The suspect in the Henri van Breda murder trial was standing next to the bed when Rudi van Breda was axed to death.

This is according to an expert who was tasked with analysing blood spatter patterns in the wake of the triple-axe attack that killed Martin van Breda‚ his wife Teresa‚ their son Rudi‚ and left their daughter Marli fighting for her life in their luxury home at De Zalze in Stellenbosch in 2015.

Police captain Marius Joubert on Tuesday read out his second report‚ based on his analysis of the blood patterns.

Joubert told the High Court in Cape Town that Rudi was likely lying on his tummy with his head turned to the side and was asleep or unaware he was about to be attacked‚ that Martin was attending to Rudi when he was attacked‚ that Teresa was attacked in the doorway of the boys’ room‚ and that a grey duvet was moved from the bed to the floor after the attacks.

The accused's plea statement did not detail a grey duvet being moved after the assault. In that statement‚ and in the defence's cross-examination of state witnesses thus far‚ Henri van Breda claimed that he was sitting on the toilet voiding his bowels and playing on his phone when he heard his brother being attacked.

Much of the evidence in court on Tuesday corroborated what forensic pathologists had already detailed in the trial before Judge Siraj Desai. This included information on Marli van Breda defending herself against her attacker‚ Martin being attacked from behind‚ and Teresa facing her attacker.

Joubert said many of his findings were "inconsistent" with the details given by Henri in his plea statement.

The case continues.

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