South Africa: Ax Murder Scene the ‘Worst Thing’ Medic Ever Saw

Henri Van Breda

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The aftermath of the attack on the Van Breda family was the worst thing paramedic Christiaan Koegelenberg had seen in his 39-year career, he told the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

“Blood ran like a waterfall down the stairs,” the now-retired paramedic testified in the murder and attempted murder trial of Henri van Breda.

Koegelenberg, who worked for Stellenbosch Emergency Medical Services, said he arrived at the private De Zalze estate after receiving a call about “serious assault” at 07:40 on January 27, 2015.

When he got there, police met him and took him to 12 Goske Road – the Van Breda home.

He saw one patient outside, at the door, sitting with a dog, he said. That was Henri van Breda.

Hand signal

The policeman took the paramedics in and up the stairs, where they saw the first two victims.

“He told us there were another two. We saw them in the bedroom. I turned around and saw one of the victims was still alive,” he said.

He moved to the first two victims and his colleague to the other two.

His colleague indicated with a hand signal that the two in the bedroom were dead. He found the “young lady” was breathing, but the other patient near her was not.

Van Breda, 22, is accused of murdering his parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, and brother Rudi, 22, with an ax, and attempting to kill his younger sister Marli in the early hours of January 27, 2015.

He has pleaded not guilty and claimed he tried to stop an intruder who attacked the family in their home.




Marli suffered severe head injuries and is making progress in her recovery.

Koegelenberg said he carried Marli down the stairs, put her on a drip and got her to the Stellenbosch MediClinic, where he handed her over to a Dr. Potgieter.

Theresa was not breathing, but he carried her downstairs and saw the flood of blood flow over the steps near where she had been lying.

A policeman took photographs of the scene.

Prosecutor Susan Galloway pointed out the bloody footsteps seen in photos of the stairs. Koegelenberg said those were the footsteps they left behind while helping Marli.

“If I get to a scene, I don’t look around. I go to do the job I came to do,” he said.

He did not treat Henri.

Most of Tuesday was spent by Pieter Botha, for Van Breda, pointing out perceived weak spots in the estate’s security infrastructure and protocol.

He introduced CCTV evidence that showed at least five vehicles passing through the estate’s entrance without being logged, and a picture of a hole in the fence. This was in an apparent effort to support Van Breda’s account of what happened.

The trial continues on Wednesday.
– News24



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Michael Onas
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