Henri van Breda back in court on Friday

The 21-year-old allegedly axed his parents and older brother to death in their De Zalze Golf Estate home in Stellenbosch in January last year.

His younger sister Marli survived the attack, but sustained serious head injuries and is suffering from retrograde amnesia.

It's still unclear if she would be able to recall any details around the incident.

The hearing is expected to be procedural, although the defence and state could also argue the merits of the case.

Henri handed himself over to police in June, 18 months after the attack.

He was released on bail of R100 000.

The NPA said it took over a year for them to finalise the case as investigators wanted to be sure the evidence was strong enough to proceed. 

NPA Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: "There is a strong case for him to answer. It's backed up by evidence we have, but we still have to go to court and prove that case beyond any reasonable doubt." 

The accused is facing three charges of murder, as well as an attempted murder charge and a charge of defeating the ends of justice for allegedly lying to police and tampering with evidence.

Court papers reveal he sustained self-inflicted injuries and searched the internet for emergency numbers nearly three hours before alerting the authorities about the murder of his family.

Henri's clothes were soaked in the blood of the deceased, DNA analysis revealed.

It's alleged the accused tampered with the crime scene and supplied false information to the police.

An axe and a kitchen knife were used in the attack. Both were recovered at the scene and came from the Van Breda home.