The state prosecutor in the Henri van Breda murder case has questioned why the accused seemed to have given a detailed statement to the police shortly after the killings at his home.
This follows testimony by neurologist, Dr James Butler that Van Breda experienced memory lapses as a result of the epileptic seizures he might have suffered on the night his parents and brother were murdered in their Stellenbosch home in January 2015.
The cross examination of Butler will continue in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, following his diagnosis that Van Breda had a condition called Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, resulting in episodes of delirium.
The neurologist has told the Cape Town High Court that it is unlikely that triple murder accused, Henri van Breda, could be fabricating his illness.
The 23-year-old accused, suffered epileptic seizures about two weeks ago. Butler has ruled out faking of the illness. He said studies show that after the seizures, a patient suffers episodes of memory loss.
He told the court that the memory losses might last for a few minutes to a few days, at times.
The court had earlier heard that Van Breda could identify all the injuries to his body except for a bruise on his forehead.
Butler testified that the fact that Van Breda does not remember how he got the injury is consistent with someone who was in a state of delirium after an epileptic seizure. He says it is not uncommon for patients, who suffer seizures, not to remember or to become dull and disoriented.
“He was disoriented and he subjectively feels disoriented. My judgement for what I heard on the audio clips, he was slow, ineffective and lacking in efficiency.”
The state believes that the bruise on the head came about as a result of a fist fight, probably with his sister, Marli, fending him off.
The state also questioned why Van Breda never mentioned the seizures to the doctors that he consulted after the killings.
Butler also said that it was not possible to report what you don’t know because of the loss of memory.
State Prosecutor Susan Galloways asked Butler why Van Breda seemed to remember details of what transpired shortly after the killings.
The trial continues.
