South African police are investigating the murder of three members of one family who were found dead in their home on a luxury golf club estate on Wednesday.
Martin van Breda, 55, Teresa, 54, and Rudi, 22, were found dead in their home in the De Zalze Winelands estate at Stellenbosch, about 50km from Cape Town, on Wednesday.
South African media reported the family appeared to have been attacked with an axe, and there are unconfirmed reports a blood-stained axe had been found at the home.
The couple’s 16-year-old daughter, Marli, was critically injured in the incident. Local media reported she was in hospital with what appeared to be an axe wound to her jugular.
Younger son Henri, 20, was reportedly seen sitting outside the house about the time of the incident, talking on his mobile phone, according to iAfrica.com. He reportedly had blood splattered on him.
Eben Potenter, the head of the homeowners’ association at the estate, told South African media the violent attack was an “isolated incident, confined to the house, and that there had been no breach of security”, Australian Associated Press reported.
Potenter was quoted in SA Breaking News as saying Henri had been taken into custody “but is being treated as a witness at this stage”.
An Emergency Medical Services spokesman, Robert Daniels, appeared to confirm that statement.
“A young woman with serious head injuries was rushed to Stellenbosch Mediclinic,” Daniels said. “An adult male in his early 20s with minor injuries was taken into police custody for questioning.”
The van Breda family returned to South Africa in June 2014 after six years living in Australia. It is understood they moved to Perth initially but had spent the past few years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, where Martin van Breda opened a franchise of luxury real estate company Engel & Völkers in 2010.
One of his former colleagues, Karl Rademeyer, told the Sunshine Coast’s Morning Bulletin that van Breda was a loving family man.
“He was very entrepreneurial, hardworking and extremely professional, but at the same time he was a really nice guy,” Rademeyer said.
“He absolutely loved his family and would talk about his kids all the time and boast about how well his sons were doing at uni with top marks.
“They were a loving family, I’d met them a few times and while they hadn’t lived on the coast for long, they had touched so many people here and had a lot of friends in Buderim.”
Martin van Breda turned his interests to the education sector when he returned to South Africa, building private schools. The Cape Town businessman Peter Armitage expressed his sorrow about the deaths on Twitter.
“RIP Martin van Breda and family. Murdered at De Zalze. Friend, great man. Founder of Netstar and Woodhill College. Was going to change SA,” he tweeted.
Rudi van Breda was studying engineering at the University of Melbourne. In a statement released on Thursday, the university said Rudi completed a bachelor of science in 2013 as a dean’s honours list member, and was a member of Trinity College. He was studying a master’s in engineering.
The university said: “Rudi was a keen sportsman and was highly regarded amongst his peers as a good-natured and friendly person, someone who was always willing to lend a hand and help out younger students.”
“The university is working with staff and students.”
