House of horrors: Van Breda trial visits scene of grisly axe attack

A South African judge and a large legal entourage has visited the home where a former Perth schoolboy is accused of killing his parents and brother with an axe.

The visit allowed the judge to view the crime scene and the exclusive gated community in Stellenbosch during the high-profile trial of Henry van Breda.

The 22-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the murders, telling a South African High Court a "laughing masked intruder" was responsible for the attack in which three family members were killed.

He claims he fought off the axe-wielding man, who laughed as he butchered his parents and older brother.

The only other survivor of the attack in January 2015 was his then 16-year-old sister Marli van Breda who suffered amnesia in the attack after falling into a coma.

Van Breda was forced to return to the scene of the crime on Tuesday as the court excursion explored the home where he stood a "frozen" witness to his parents and brother's murder more than two years ago.

The former Scotch College, Perth, student, who stands to inherit a slice of the estimated $20 million family estate, stayed close to his legal team as the large entourage from the Western Cape High Court walked through the scene of the vicious, bloody slaughter.

At one instance, the Daily Mail reports Van Breda began filming on his mobile phone as his lawyer, Lorinda Van Niekerk, scaled the villa's 2.1-metre wall to show how an intruder might gain entry to the home.

The events took place on January 27, 2015 at the family's luxury home at an exclusive golf estate in Stellenbosch outside Cape Town, where they lived after returning from several years in Australia.

The trial, which opened in Cape Town after several delays, has attracted international interest as police failed to arrest anyone for the grisly killings until Van Breda handed himself in to police.

• Son accused of axe-murdering family claims he was on toilet playing games

• Former Perth schoolboy charged with family's triple axe murder accuses 'laughing masked intruder'

• Van Breda family's Queensland home up for sale two years after axe murder

Van Breda is alleged to have killed his brother Rudi and parents Martin and Teresa, and left his sister Marli struggling with near-fatal injuries to her head, neck and throat.

On Monday at the Western Cape High Court, van Breda, dressed in a suit and tie, quietly said "not guilty" to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

In a statement read out by his lawyer Pieter Botha, van Breda said that a masked intruder had entered the house and attacked his family with an axe in the early hours of the morning.

The accused said he could "make out the silhouette of somebody" attacking his brother in the high-security property.

"I shouted for help, shouting to attract attention," he said.

Van Breda said his father came into the room "trying to tackle the attacker".

"My father was struck as he lunged towards the attacker. He was hit a number of times... I also recall the attacker was laughing."

Van Breda said he heard his mother's voice, and then the intruder left the room.

According to media reports, the accused's older brother Rudi, a 21-year-old engineering student, was found on a blood-soaked bed next to his father, 54.

Both were killed by savage blows from the axe.

His mother, 55, was found with a gaping head wound on the bedroom's balcony.

Van Breda's teenage sister Marli was left in a coma after the attack and suffered memory loss, but she may give evidence during the trial.

Van Breda only suffered minor bruises and scratches, which some experts say may have been self-inflicted.

Believing he was about to be arrested, Van Breda handed himself in to a local police station 18 months after the killings.

On Monday, he said in his statement that he had passed out after disarming the attacker, who then fled the house.

"I later woke lying on the stairs. I was unsure how long I was unconscious... I could see it was light. I then saw Marli moving. I could also hear what sounded like Rudi making gurgling sounds," he said.

Adrian Kleynhans, the first police officer on the scene, told the court he had found Van Breda covered in blood.

Kleynhans said there no sign of forced entry at the house, and he identified a small axe presented in evidence.

Van Breda said he was in the toilet playing games on his phone when the intruder broke in.

He described his family as "fairly close-knit" who enjoyed boating and shark cage diving together.

Before the attack, they had spent the evening watching a Star Wars movie, while their mother spoke on the phone.

The run-up to the trial generated fevered interest over a privileged son allegedly unleashing a savage attack on his family, whose fortune has been estimated at $20 million.

In a leaked tape of Van Breda's call to emergency services, he said his family members were "bleeding from the head" before he appeared to giggle briefly.

Since his arrest, Van Breda, who was then a student, has been on $8,000 bail while living with his girlfriend.

There is a continuing legal battle over whether court proceedings can be broadcast live on television.

- With AFP.