Eighteen months after he “survived” the brutal attack that killed his parents and brother, a former Perth student has confessed to their murders.
Henri van Breda, 21, has reportedly been arrested near Cape Town 18 months after the murders of his parents and older brother Rudi, 22.
Martin and Teresa van Breda – who raised their family in Western Australia for several years before returning to their native South Africa – and their eldest son were killed in their Stellenbosch mansion on January 27, 2015.
Their daughter Marli, 16, narrowly escaped death after being left with a severed jugular and fractured skull, while Henri escaped with only superficial injuries.
Martin and Teresa van Breda we killed in January 2015.
Marli miraculously survived the attack.
Three of the five members of the family were brutally murdered.
Henri told police an unknown intruder had attacked his family members with an axe before throwing the weapon at him, knocking him unconscious, a story Marli was unable to contradict as her injuries had left her with severe amnesia.
Suspicion first fell on Henri when the doctor who treated him told police he suspected his injuries were self-inflicted but the case stalled and Henri has been free until he handed himself in this week.
He has reportedly been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
