Henri van Breda, the South African, former Perth-based student accused of brutally murdering his parents and brother last year, has found an ally in his girlfriend.
Danielle Janse van Rensburg, 20, who has been dating van Breda, 21, for four months, has given an emotional interview with South African magazine You where she proclaims his innocence, arguing that her lover is “innocen[t] 100 per cent”.
“Anyone who spends a day with him will realise he couldn’t do such a thing. I believe in his innocence 100 per cent,” Janse van Rensburg told the magazine.
“When he talks about his family he gets emotional but he’s doing well. He’s strong – really strong. He’ll often bring up his family and talk about his brother especially. He remembers only the good.”
“The speculation and rumours don’t bother Henri at all. The people close to him know who and what he is and they know the truth. Henri will survive anything – he’s a strong guy.”
“He told me that if I had any questions I can ask him and he’ll be honest with me.”
The couple met while studying at a cooking school in South Africa and have been a couple since February. Janse van Rensburg says that she believes her boyfriend’s claims of innocence that see him argue that an intruder broke into his family home and murdered his wealthy parents Martin and Teresa and his 22-year-old brother Rudi, leaving his 17-year-old sister Marli with amnesia.
Van Breda is currently on bail in Cape Town, awaiting his murder trial on September 9. He handed himself in to police earlier this month, 18 months after the murders occurred.