The surviving son of an Australian family killed in South Africa appeared to “giggle” when he called emergency to report the murders. 20-year-old Henri van Breda’s parents and older brother were found dead at their home in Stellenbosch, while his 16-year-old sister Marli is in intensive care after suffering serious injuries.

In the early hours of January 27, the van Breda family were attacked in their exclusive golf course estate by a burglar wielding an axe, Henri told the police. According to reports, he appeared to have giggled during a five-minute call to the triple-0 emergency line as he explained what had happened to his family just moments before.

His parents, Martin and Theresa, both 54, and his older brother Rudi, 22, were killed during the attack, while Marli suffered head trauma and a severed jugular. She is in a stable condition in a hospital. No visitor is allowed in her hospital room. Henri survived with a bruise to his head and scratches.

He was seen by a neighbour looking “utterly shocked.” Former sports anchor Martin Locke, the family’s neighbour, told the Times he saw Henri in a terrible state as he sat hunched over in the front of their house. Locke tried speaking to the young man, but Henri appeared to still be in shock and wasn’t saying anything.

Moments before, however, Henri sounded calm. In the emergency phone recording obtained by eNews Channel Africa, he can be heard explaining that they were attacked by a man with an axe. He told the operator his family’s exact location during the assault. As several news sites noted, Henri appeared to snicker during the phone call as he was telling the operator that his family were “bleeding from the head.”

A close friend of Henri, Alex Boshoff, was at Henri’s side after he was questioned by the police. He said nothing was stolen from the family’s home. There were security cameras all over the place, but no arrest has been made. Henri is believed to be staying with relatives and is receiving counselling.

The van Bredas were originally from South Africa before moving to Perth then to Brisbane about eight years ago. They then returned to South Africa in mid-2014. A public memorial service will be held on Thursday at Marli’s former school in Queensland, Matthew Flinders Anglican College.