Sentencing proceedings of convicted murderer Henri van Breda are expected to start in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.
Van Breda, 23, was found guilty on May 21 of axing his mother, father and brother to death, attempting to kill his sister and defeating the ends of justice.
The State had disproved his claims that an intruder, who wore a balaclava, gloves and dark clothing, was behind the attack in the family's Stellenbosch home in January 2016. The case was based on circumstantial evidence.
In delivering his judgment, Judge Siraj Desai said the "result is inescapable".
He further ruled that the interests of society dictated that Van Breda be detained ahead of his sentencing.
On Saturday, News24 reported that Van Breda's lawyer Lorinda van Niekerk said five inmates had attacked him while he was on his way to the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison last week.
Another inmate apparently intervened and protected the axe murderer from his assailants
He was "slightly injured", Van Niekerk said, and Pollsmoor's nursing staff attended to him.