A High Court Judge on Monday found young Pretoria waiter Karl Greyvensteyn guilty of murdering his parents and brother with premeditation and the direct intention to kill them.
Mr Justice Johan Els found Greyvensteyn (21) guilty of the July 2000 murder of his father, quantity surveyor Otto Greyvensteyn (50) his mother Erika (48) and his brother Christo (22).
All of them were shot in the head in their beds in their Lynnwood home.
Greyvensteyn’s only reaction in the dock after the verdict was to sit with his head in his hands. Several upset friends and family members cried.
The judge rejected Greyvensteyn’s version that he had shot his brother in a fit of anger after being woken by shots and realising that his brother had killed his parents and was trying to pin the blame on him as ”a fairy tale”.
His version that his brother would have gone to bed without any concern knowing that he had shot his parents and that his brother knew about it was unlikely and illogical.
The judge said Greyvensteyn’s evidence contradicted the evidence of state witnesses and could not possibly be true.
Greyvensteyn, during his evidence, admitted that he had lied to several people, including the police and his aunt, to disguise his guilt.
He had not hesitated to lie to the court on numerous occasions and constantly contradicted himself and adapted his evidence.
He had, for example, initially insisted that his relationship with his parents was good, but after being confronted with the letters he wrote to his girlfriend, admitted that he had a bad relationship with his parents and did not like his brother at all.
He is expected to be sentenced Monday afternoon.
Friends of the family said they had expected the verdict and had known all along that he was guilty of all three murders. – Sapa