Convicted axe murderer, Henry van Breda‘s application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentencing has been dismissed in the High Court in Cape Town.
Van Breda was sentenced to three life terms in June for murdering his parents, Martin and Theresa and his brother, Rudi.
He was also sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of his sister, Marli and another 12 months for obstruction of justice.
“In the light of the heinous nature of the offences committed by the applicant and in the absence of any other significant mitigating factors other than his youthfulness and lack of previous convictions any lesser sentences would not have been consistent with our sentencing regime. In the result, the application for leave to appeal both against the convictions and the sentences is refused,” Judge Siraj Desai explained.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says if Vvan Breda goes to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal, it will also oppose his application there.
“This was a right sentence and a conviction that fitted the gruesome crime that he committed. If he is going to take it to Bloemfontein at the SCA, we’ll follow them there and we will oppose and we are convinced that we’ll be able to convince the judges at the SCA that there’s no chance that anyone else can come to a different conclusion, “ says NPA spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila.
