In a couple of months time, on September 9th, there will be a pre-trial hearing of Henri van Breda, accused of killing his parents and older brother and severely injuring his sister Marli. News came out over the weekend that Marli is on the State Prosecutor’s list as a state witness. This means that Henri cannot contact her. Henri has been out on R100 000 bail since he was told to hand himself in last month.
While Marli is listed, it does not mean she will be called to testify against her brother. Whether the 17 year old remains on the list depends on the outcome of the hearing in September.
I can imagine this is going to be a long and drawn out case, similar to that which we have experienced with Oscar Pistorius. The van Breda estate is worth millions and the best lawyers have been hired to represent Marli and Henri. The best legal brains are going to be put to work to try and see justice – or their representation of it – done. It’s going to be interesting to follow.
As we know that Oscar killed Reeva, we know that Henri killed most of his family.
I’ve often thought to myself that you never know what is going on in people’s hearts, minds and homes.
It will not surprise me if this vicious attack was birthed from a tik induced frenzy. As someone cannot control a rabid dog, it’s the hardest thing in the world for a family to try and contain a mind lost to a drug that causes, among a long list of other things, increased energy, a lack of reason and uncontrollable rage.
This photo was taken of Marli prior to the attack – she had it on her Facebook page in February last year. It’s devastating to me that her life changed in such a way, in the blink of an eye.
In February last year, Marli was left to recover in hospital with no family at her bedside. They were not allowed to visit Marli. This was what was written at the time:
But she survived. And has gone on to make a remarkable recovery. If Henri did have a drug addiction and his parents didn’t know about it, it would make sense that nothing was done to get help for him. It’s going to be difficult to find out exactly what was going on behind the scenes in the days running up to the 26th/27th January 2015. No doubt a case will be built and as in the Oscar and Reeva case it will be seen from every angle. How Marli copes with the huge press coverage and media scrutiny remains to be seen. I am sure she will be as well protected as possible by her legal team and aunts and uncles. I hope she will be left to move on and get to live a life that is blessed with normalcy and mundane-ness.
My life seems normal and mundane – I am grateful.
Psalm 90:12
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God Bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx