Guilty of ax murder, but the girlfriend still says that he is innocent

Three members of the family are dead. Another seriously wounded in what was clearly a frantic ax attack. And in stride, the son, the main suspect, said calmly that he did not do it.

Perth-based Henri van Breda is currently serving three life sentences for the brutal slaughter of his family in 2015. [19659003] Last month, a South African court found him guilty of murder. 39, killing his mother, father and brother and trying to kill his sister.

Until 2015 the family had led a seemingly charming life. Coast, before returning to their homeland of South Africa to another luxury home.

And despite the verdicts of guilt, there are still people close to the former student who believe that he is innocent, his supporters tell Liz Hayes in an interview. on 60 minutes on Sunday evening. They say that he is a victim who has been framed.

Her girlfriend, Janse van Rensburg, is one of them. Her aunt, Leenta Nell, whose sister is dead, is another.

Van Rensburg met van Breda after the ax killings, stood by his side during the trial, and continues to insist that he did not not done. they met each other, she had no idea who he was ..

She found out what was being criticized online

"J & # I discovered on the Internet, I saw an article, and then I saw it, I was like, "Oh. That makes sense because he does not talk much about his family, "she tells Hayes.

An incredulous Hayes says," Your very first reaction was "Oh, Van Rensburg says: "I was really hurt, but I felt really sorry for him",

In an interview with South African You magazine in 2016, she said that she wanted the people know that his boyfriend was not capable of such an atrocity and all he wanted was justice for his family.

"He told me that if j & rsquo; Had questions I can ask him and he will be honest with me, "she said in 2016, while she had only been attending him for four months.

"Whoever spends a day with him will realize that he could not do such a thing. thing. I believe in his 100% innocence. "

Upon entering the bloody crime scene, 60 Minutes reveals why the others were much more skeptical about the protests of van Breda that he was innocent and had been spared by another. "In its version, the same attacker, with the same intention, using the same weapon, but the result is very different," says Susan Galloway, prosecutor of the Cape, from the version of Henry.

Also skeptical was Detective Sergeant Marlon Appollis, who remains struck by van Breda's calm when he saw him for the first time after the murders

"Like total calm. We would expect all the rage and everything going on inside, but there was nothing, it was just quiet.

The 14-year-old police veteran says that it was one of the most conflicting cases of his career. The images reveal the devastating crime scene, he describes it as "particularly vicious".

As Van Breda gave his version of the events, he remembers thinking "Is it possible? Can it be what he tells me, can he be the truth? "

" For me personally, I say to myself, "No it can not be" "

But he knew that he could not just tell van Breda" you're lying ".

Last month, prosecutors did just that, with van Breda, 23, sentenced to three life sentences for the murders of his parents and brother in South Africa, a 15-year sentence for attempted murder. The Scotch College Perth alumna appeared impbadive as the judge handed down the sentences for the horrible killings in his family's luxury home in Stellenbosch. His lawyers said he would appeal the conviction.

Van Breda denied killing his brother and his parents and left his sister Marli dealing with almost fatal injuries to the head, neck and throat after the bloody attack

. Worldwide interest in a favored son unleashed such a brutal attack on his family, whose fortune was estimated at $ 16 million.

Van Breda had told the court that an intruder had entered the luxury residence of the De Zalze Golf Estate late

Judge Siraj Desai did not believe him, calling his rampage "wild and vicious "with" an almost unprecedented degree of contempt for his family ".

"Every murderous attack against a family member is a serious crime and justifies the most severe punishment," the judge told the court.

"These were attacks involving a high degree of uncontrolled violence." The victims were not armed (and) they were fighting a son or brother with an ax, probably not waiting for him. at worst. "

" We have not heard any explanation … you have not shown any remorse.

human factor which to some extent decreases the severity of these crimes. "

– 60 Minutes are broadcast Sunday at 8:40 pm on channel 9. Visit the 60 Minutes Australia Facebook page for more information.