Last night it poured with rain in Cape Town. The Stellenbosch holding cell would have been cold and unfamiliar to Henri. Lying there, staring at the ceiling, pondering his future, I doubt he had much sleep. When the dreadful murders of most of the van Breda family took place, I wrote about it frequently. Both South African and Australian friends and acquaintances, business partners and onlookers wanted to find out what was going on. 9 days after the tragic events, I asked the question, if Henri didn’t do it, who did? That has been the biggest problem with this unsolved murder all along. Either way, there was a murderer on the loose. If Henri had brutally attacked and killed his parents and older brother, he was left to ‘get away with it’. If he didn’t do it, then someone else had gotten away with it. Henri’s claim was that he too had been attacked by this unknown intruder. There was no sign of forced entry. None of the security at De Zalze estate had been breached either. For everyone looking in, there could only be one killer – Henri.
Why were the police not arresting him?
There were very few answers. The police gave brief explanations such as ‘they are still investigating.’ In those early days, Marli was put under police protection. She could not remember anything of that dreadful night.
Sunday Times Article January 24, 2016
The other victims – the van Breda parents and, Rudi, the son who died with them were laid to rest with Henri present. It was tough and frustrating to watch.
On 16th March 2015, I wrote a piece after I read an amazing article of a young British woman who had survived a horrific attack and went onto live a full and happy life. I called it Hope for Marli. Ten days later, after I had been contacted by Australian friends of Rudi, I wrote, on their behalf, a tribute to him.
Marli, meantime was recovering and in June 2015 was able to go back to school and then amazingly, 5 months after the murder, the so called ‘innocent’ brother was reunited with his sister. Henri and Marli reunited. It was another contradiction in the whole saga. If police believed him to be innocent, surely he would have been at Marli’s side since day 1.
A month later, police said, believe it or not, they had no one to arrest.
While all reports pointed at Henri, he was still a free man. You Magazine stalked him and continued to write about him later on in the year when his Mom’s sister could not imagine her nephew was guilty. “Henri being involved is impossible” the headline read.
A year passed and still, while the case remained open, there had been no arrests.
Since killing his parents and his brother and giving his only sister a brain injury, Henri has had 505 days of physical freedom. They are now over.
Yesterday, Henri was asked to report to the Stellenbosch police station. At 3-30pm, he arrived with his lawyer. He was kept overnight and will appear in court today, to be charged with 3 cases or murder and one of attempted murder.
I still maintain that if someone has committed a crime and does not get caught, they are still in chains whether they are behind bars or not. They still have to live with themselves, hiding this dark unspoken secret deep within their soul. If they get it out, admit their guilt and get life in prison, they will be free, even in jail.
I am sure that Henri will say he is not guilty. We will be watching to see how this unfolds and if justice is done for his murdered parents, Martin and Teresa, and brother Rudi, who also died at his hands, as well as his sister Marli – who has life-changing injuries.
Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga