Van Breda trial: The most damning question of all

State prosecutor Susan Galloway led triple axe murder accused Henri van Breda through a catalogue of contradictions as she homed in on blood at the crime scene where his parents and brother were murdered with an axe at their luxury home in 2015.

The most chilling question of all was this: How could Rudi van Breda‚ brutally attacked with an axe that delivered several blows to the head‚ manage to roll up a duvet and place it over a knife?

The state alleges Rudi had died quickly from the brutal attack‚ but the defence has him staying alive for some after – a claim that puts him in place to push a knife under a bed‚ drag a duvet‚ and move himself off the bed to the door between the bedroom and bathroom before dying.

State witnesses have testified in court already that it was likely Van Breda himself who had dragged his brother's body across the floor and changed the crime scene.

When Van Breda said in court on Monday it was Rudi who had moved the duvet‚ Galloway said: “You do consider that the duvet was almost rolled up and placed on top of the knife? There is no trail whatsoever of it having been dragged.

“You are aware of the fact that the forensic experts for the state found no unidentified fingerprints‚ no footprints‚ and no foreign DNA on the scene of the murders. They did‚ however‚ find the DNA [in blood] of your brother Rudi and Martin your father on your shorts‚” she said‚ asking how this would have happened if the attacker had his back to Van Breda at time.

“The alleged attacker would have been standing between you and the victims who were the source of the blood‚” she said.

Galloway also asked Van Breda how blood had ended up in the shower and referred to two patches of blood in the bathroom that could not be confirmed as shoe prints but were there nonetheless.

“Blood would have been transferred to the bathroom” said Galloway‚ “and your alleged attacker never ventured into the bathroom‚” she said. Van Breda confirmed this.

“And neither the axe nor the knife was taken into the bathroom. So‚ only you were left to be one the one who could have transferred the blood‚” said Galloway.

But‚ with prompting from his defence counsel‚ Piet Botha‚ Van Breda said it might have been officers who were on the scene “between the attack and the photos being taken” who transferred the blood.

Galloway also pointed out that his own injuries‚ “were all sustained before you say you lost consciousness” yet there is no blood flow from the alleged passing out on the stairwell.

“The blood did not change direction at all‚” said Galloway.

She also asked how the axe was so bloody that it left a trail on the wall when Van Breda claims he threw it at his attacker‚ and yet not a single drop of his family members' blood had ended up on his torso in the scuffle just before that.

She also wanted to know why “the bottom of your socks were clean when you were a victim in this matter”‚ and why Sasha the dog had left not a single bloody paw-print around the house.

“Is it not a case of you having locked her in the garage before carrying out the attacks on your family?” said Galloway.

Van Breda said the blood on his sock was from blood “dripping down” from the stairs‚ but Galloway asked why he had made no mention of the dripping blood before.

The case continues.