Friday, March 14, 2014

The Trial of Oscar Pistorius

Shirtless, shell-shocked and drenched in blood: the court is shown dramatic photos of Pistorius moments after he shot his girlfriend. Bare-chested with blood smeared all over his shorts and prosthetic legs, these dramatic images show a shell-shocked Oscar Pistorius moments after he killed his girlfriend.
The first police officers on the scene found the Paralympian pacing around in a 'very emotional state' and a grisly trail of blood that ran throughout the house.
The images were taken by police photographers in the garage in the aftermath of the shooting in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year. In one, the muscular Olympic sprinter, who is shirtless, is standing facing the camera wearing his prosthetics. There are blood stains up to the knees of his limbs and his shorts are also bloodied, but his naked chest appears to be clean.


Aftermath of the killing: This picture of Oscar Pistorius, bare-chested and covered in blood from the waist down, was taken by police shortly after the Paralympian shot Reeva Steenkamp at his home

Aftermath of the killing: This picture of Oscar Pistorius, bare-chested and covered in blood from the waist down, was taken by police shortly after the Paralympian shot Reeva Steenkamp at his home
Horrific: Blood is splattered all over the toilet where Miss Steenkamp was shot by Pistorius
Sickening: A substantial amount of blood was found in the toilet bowl. The trial was expected to examine whether Miss Steenkamp was sitting on the toilet at the time she was shot

 A substantial amount of blood was found in the toilet bowl. The trial was expected to examine whether Miss Steenkamp was sitting on the toilet at the time she was shot

Grim: The court was shown this picture of the 9mm pistol used to kill Miss Steenkamp as it was found by the first police officer on the scene. The hammer was still cocked with the safety catch removed, the trial heard

 The court was shown this picture of the 9mm pistol used to kill Miss Steenkamp as it was found by the first police officer on the scene. The hammer was still cocked with the safety catch removed, the trial heard
Evidence: This picture of Pistorius's blood-stained prosthetic legs was used by his defense lawyer in a bid to show that the athlete was wearing them, as he says, when he broke down the toilet door with a cricket bat

 This picture of Pistorius's blood-stained prosthetic legs was used by his defense lawyer in a bid to show that the athlete was wearing them, as he says, when he broke down the toilet door with a cricket bat

A second photograph shows Pistorius from the waist up and from the left side, also showing blood on his shorts and parts of his body, with a tattoo visible on his back. His left arm is smeared with blood and his hand is clenched.

The court was guided through the images by former police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg  who arrived at the house around 40 minutes after the shooting.

They included the blood-spattered toilet cubicle where Miss Steenkamp was shot.
A close-up photograph of the toilet showed an extensive blood smear on the rim, as well as thick blood streaks in the bowl, where the water was also dark with blood.
Once again a picture of the 29-year-old model's bullet wounds was accidentally flashed up on screens in the courtroom before the monitors went black. A similar blunder a few days ago caused Pistorius to be sick in the dock.

A moment of calm: Pistorius is comforted by his sister Aimee on another emotionally charged day in court

A moment of calm: Pistorius is comforted by his sister Aimee on another emotionally charged day in court
Strain: Pistorius faced another emotional day in the dock as graphic evidence of the crime scene was examined in meticulous detail by the prosecution
 Pistorius faced another emotional day in the dock as graphic evidence of the crime scene was examined in meticulous detail by the prosecution
Accused: The prosecution says Pistorius intentionally killed MIss Steenkamp after a loud argument and then tried to cover it up by saying he thought the 29-year-old model was a dangerous intruder

         The prosecution stated that Pistrious shot Miss Steencamp following a loud argument and tried to cover it up by saying he thought she was a dangerous intruder

Mr van Rensburg, the former commander at a police station close to Pistorius's home, said he did not arrest Pistorius immediately after discovering Miss Steenkamp had been shot dead, but did warn him to remain at the house. 
'I told him I observed him as a suspect at that stage,' Mr van Rensburg said.
'I warned him of his rights. I said to him I wasn't arresting him at that stage... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene.'
A short time later, Mr van Rensburg said the runner's brother Carl, sister Aimee and a lawyer arrived at the house.
The prosecution says Pistorius intentionally killed Miss Steenkamp after a loud argument and then tried to cover it up by saying he thought the 29-year-old model was a dangerous intruder. Pistorius, 27, still maintains the killing was an accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.


Moral support: Pistorius is comforted by a relative at the start of day ten of his murder trial
 Pistorius is comforted by a relative at the start of day ten of his murder trial


Tension: Pistorius bows his head in the dock as his family and other members of the public take their seats

 Pistorius bows his head in the dock as his family and other members of the public take their seats

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Barry Roux sought to undermine the police investigation, notably by questioning the conduct of former investigating officer Hilton Botha, who was thrown off the case last year and resigned from the police force.  Mr Roux repeatedly asked Mr van Rensburg what Mr Botha was doing at the scene during different parts of the investigation.
Botha admitted last year that he didn't wear proper forensic clothing and shoe covers when he examined parts of the scene and Pistorius's team believes the police disturbed evidence and may have tampered with it.
'You did not disturb anything in the bathroom? You did not see Mr Hilton Botha disturb anything in the bathroom?' Roux asked Mr van Rensburg.
'Were you acutely aware that you should not disturb the scene?'


Graphic: The cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the toilet door after he shot Miss Steenkamp is seen next to a blood-soaked towel on the bathroom floor

The cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the toilet door after he shot Miss Steenkamp is seen next to a blood-soaked towel on the bathroom floor
Splatter: Pistorius says he used the bat to break down the door to get to his model girlfriend after shooting her, he claims, by mistake thinking she was a burglar

 Pistorius says he used the bat to break down the door to get to his model girlfriend after shooting her, he claims, by mistake thinking she was a burglar
Crime scene: This image shows the bathroom where Pistorius fired the fatal shots and the toilet in the background where Miss Steenkamp was hit by three bullets

Crime scene: This image shows the bathroom where Pistorius fired the fatal shots and the toilet in the background where Miss Steenkamp was hit by three bullets
                                        
And again, Roux said: 'Where was Mr Botha at that time?' Van Rensburg said at points he did not know where Botha was.
During the investigation in the bathroom, Mr van Rensburg also said that he turned around at one point to see that the firearms expert had handled the gun Pistorius used to kill Miss Steenkamp and taken the magazine out of the weapon without using gloves.
'I asked him "what are you doing?",' Mr van Rensburg testified.
The officer realized his error, apologized, put the magazine back in the gun and laid it on the mat where it was on the floor, Mr van Rensburg said.
He then took the gloves out of his chest pocket, and again picked up the gun, according to Mr van Rensburg.
'I was very angry,' he said.
Mr van Rensburg also testified about eight expensive watches that were found in a blood-spattered box in the bedroom upstairs.

Expensive: This box of watches was found in the bedroom with blood smeared on the lid. Police estimated that the value of one them was around $10,000 (£6,000). A probe was ordered after one went missing

 This box of watches was found in the bedroom with blood smeared on the lid. Police estimated that the value of one them was around $10,000. A probe was ordered after one went missing

Temptation: The box of watches can been seen on the side in the bedroom. One of the watches was stolen by police investigating the shooting, the trial heard
 The box of watches can been seen on the side in the bedroom. One of the watches was stolen by police investigating the shooting, the trial heard


Macabre: The court was shown various images like this of the bloodstains that ran through the house

 The court was shown various images like this of the bloodstains that ran through the house
Gruesome: Blood is seen smeared down the toilet wall in this crime scene photograph

 Blood is seen smeared down the toilet wall in this crime scene photograph

Start of the trail: The first police officer on the scene said he traced spots and bigger blood marks downstairs (pictured) where Miss Steenkamp lay dead from three gunshot wounds
The first police officer on the scene said he traced spots and bigger blood marks downstairs (pictured) where Miss Steenkamp lay dead from three gunshot wounds


He said he warned fellow officers that they should be monitored closely because they could be tempting to anyone moving through the crime scene. Pistorius's sister asked if she could take one of the watches, leaving seven in place, he said. But Mr van Rensburg said another watch went missing while he was out of the room, prompting him to order the frisking of all the police forensic experts on the scene, as well as a search of their bags and vehicles, and the entire house.
Mr van Rensburg, who recalled that one of the officers had estimated the cost of the watch at close to $10,000, said he then opened a case of theft after the watch was not found.
Later, he said, Pistorius's brother, Carl, asked if he could take the watches.  Mr van Rensburg said he would instead hand the watches directly to Oscar Pistorius, but without the box, which was still being analyzed.  While doing so, he asked Pistorius to inform him if anything else went missing, but nothing else was reported stolen.
Meanwhile, Mr van Rensburg revealed that some media had offered up to $5,500  just for a picture of the toilet door.


Key witness: Former police station commander Schoombie van Rensburg gives evidence about what he found when he arrived at the scene around 40 minutes after the shooting
Key witness: Former police station commander Schoombie van Rensburg gives evidence about what he found when he arrived at the scene around 40 minutes after the shooting


Horrific: Police officer Schoombie van Rensburg (pictured) said he followed the blood trail from Miss Steenkamp's body up the staircase (shown on screen), through a lounge area and into Pistorius's bedroom

 Police officer Schoombie van Rensburg (pictured) said he followed the blood trail from Miss Steenkamp's body up the staircase (shown on screen), through a lounge area and into Pistorius's bedroom
Police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg followed the blood trail across the floor and up the staircase
Police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg followed the blood trail across the floor and up the staircase
Blood stains can be seen on the staircase near to where Miss Steenkamp's body was found
Blood stains can be seen on the staircase near to where Miss Steenkamp's body was found

He said the door was placed in a plastic 'body bag' and transported to a police station, where van Rensburg said he stored it in his office because it was too big to fit in an area normally reserved for evidence from crime scenes.
Yesterday, dozens of other crime scene photographs tracing the trail of blood through the athlete's home were shown to the court - including ones of Miss Steenkamp's corpse that made the athlete throw up in the dock.
The court was guided through the images from the Paralympian's cocked 9mm pistol he used to kill Miss Steenkamp to the blood-splattered toilet where she was shot.
Blood was found on the floors, walls, stairs and chairs by one of two police officers who arrived on scene to find Pistorius in a 'very emotional' state in the aftermath of the killing.
His cocked 9mm pistol was found lying on a bathmat, alongside a mobile phone, while in the bathroom his cricket bat which he says he used to break down the bathroom door to get to Miss Steenkamp was seen next to a bloodied towel.


Scene: Mr van Rensburg told the court that it was not possible for someone to have gained access to the bathroom window (top right) from the outside

Mr van Rensburg told the court that it was not possible for someone to have gained access to the bathroom window (top right) from the outside
 
An image of Miss Steenkamp's blood-covered body and skull was also accidentally displayed on the court monitors when the operator was scrolling through the pictures. It brought gasps from the public gallery and Pistorius began violently retching before being handed a green bucket which he vomited into repeatedly.
After composing himself, the athlete questioned why the images were being shown and asked for computer screen in front of him to be turned off. His sister Aimee, who was also crying, left her seat in the public gallery to comfort him in the dock.
Talking through the pictures, former police Colonel Schoombie van Rensburg said he traced spots and bigger blood marks downstairs where Steenkamp lay dead from three gunshot wounds.
He described how he saw Miss Steenkamp's body covered in towels and plastic bags that the daughter of the estate administrator said she had used, with assistance from Pistorius, to try to stop the bleeding.


Denial: Pistorius maintains the killing was an accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him

Denial: Pistorius maintains the killing was an accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him
Gripping: Members of the public gallery look at images of the crime scene on a TV in the courtroom

 Members of the public gallery look at images of the crime scene on a TV in the courtroom


Supportive: The court heard that Pistorius's sister Aimee (right) arrived at the house with a lawyer shortly after the first police officers attended the scene
 The court heard that Pistorius's sister Aimee (right) arrived at the house with a lawyer shortly after the first police officers attended the scene
Adjourned: The sprinter leaves the high court in Pretoria at the end of the second week of the trial

Adjourned: The sprinter leaves the high court in Pretoria at the end of the second week of the trial


Oscar Pistorius arrives at the high court in Pretoria

Back for another day: Pistorius is flanked by security as he makes his way to the high court in Pretoria

Moments later, he found a 'very emotional and crying' Pistorius in the kitchen pacing up and down.
'I asked him what happened but he didn't answer me,' Van Rensburg told the court. 'He was in tears.'
He then followed the blood trail across the floor, up the staircase, through a small lounge area and then into Pistorius's bedroom. Ultimately, van Rensburg reached the bathroom where the world-famous athlete had shot his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year. There, van Rensburg said he found Pistorius's 9mm, with the hammer cocked and the safety off, on a bath mat.
'It was ready to fire,' he said, when shown a picture. 'You just have to pull the trigger.'
Graphic: Oscar Pistorius was physically sick in the dock after horrific images of his girlfriend's blood-splattered body were accidentally shown in court
 Oscar Pistorius was physically sick in the dock after horrific images of his girlfriend's blood-splattered body were accidentally shown in court
Blunder: Graphic pictures were displayed on a screen while the operator was scrolling through trying to find other images
Agony: Pistorius covers his head in despair as he listens to graphic evidence of the moment he killed Miss Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year

 Pistorius covers his head in despair as he listens to graphic evidence of the moment he killed Miss Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year
Despair: The court was briefly shown, apparently by accident, graphic images of Miss Steenkamp's blood-stained body after he shot her dead

 The court was briefly shown, apparently by accident, graphic images of Miss Steenkamp's blood-stained body after he shot her dead

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel noted that the mat was clean and out of kilter with the blood stains around it. There were also spent bullet casings, cellphones and a blood-soaked towel on the bathroom floor, along with the cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the toilet door to get to Miss Steenkamp.
In the toilet cubicle, there was a darker pool of blood and the wooden splinters where the locked door, through which Pistorius shot the model, had been bashed through. Near the door to the athlete's bedroom, there was a black air gun rifle and a blue baseball bat.
Pictures of the bedroom showed a cabinet with multiple sets of sunglasses and a box of expensive-looking watches as well as blood stains on the carpets and even across a mirror on the watch box.



Upsetting: Pistorius's sister Aimee (centre) is comforted as graphic images are shown
Pistorius's sister Aimee (centre) is comforted as graphic images are shown
Shock: A member of Pistorius's family (pictured, right, next to his aunt Lois) covers her mouth as distressing details of Miss Steenkamp's death are revealed in court
 A member of Pistorius's family (pictured, right, next to his aunt Lois) covers her mouth as distressing details of Miss Steenkamp's death are revealed in court

Another image showed the gun holster on a table by the side of the bed where Pistorius says Steenkamp, and not him, was sleeping that night. The size of the bedroom suggested Pistorius had to walk close to where he says he thought Steenkamp was still sleeping to get to the bathroom.
In another photograph displayed on TV monitors in the court, spots of blood are seen right next to some of the Olympic and multiple Paralympic champion's trophies.  Earlier, a photograph of Pistorius's blood-stained prosthetic legs was used by his chief defense lawyer in a bid to show that the athlete was wearing them, as he says, when he broke down the toilet door with a cricket bat. The image, showing the prosthetic limbs with white socks and stained with Miss Steenkamp's blood up to the knee, was displayed by lawyer Barry Roux on a TV monitor at Pistorius's murder trial.


Supportive: The athlete's sister Aimee (left), uncle Arnold (second right) and aunt Lois (right) listen to testimony
 The athlete's sister Aimee (left), uncle Arnold (second right) and aunt Lois (right) listen to testimony
Under pressure: Forensics expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen was questioned by the defence about whether he had the right qualification to examine the marks on the toilet door

 Forensics expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen was questioned by the defence about whether he had the right qualification to examine the marks on the toilet door

Mr Roux also highlighted alleged missteps by police and questioned their treatment of key evidence during the investigation. Lawyer Barry Roux grilled a police forensics expert for a second day, challenging his analysis of a bullet-marked toilet door that was removed from Pistorius's bathroom after he shot Reeva Steenkamp.
In an aggressive start to his cross-examination, Mr Roux questioned whether Colonel Johannes Vermeulen even had the right qualifications to examine marks on the door that offer crucial evidence to what happened the moment the model was killed. He also forced Col Vermeulen to admit that police may have contaminated the crime scene during their investigation.

Doubt: Pathologist Gert Saayman said the partially digested vegetables he found in the model's stomach suggested Miss Steenkamp (pictured) had food less than two hours before her death at around 3am

Pathologist Gert Saayman said the partially digested vegetables he found in the model's stomach suggested Miss Steenkamp (pictured) had food less than two hours before her death at around 3am
Scene: Pistorius shot Miss Steenkamp through the bathroom door at his home (above) in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year

Pistorius shot Miss Steenkamp through the bathroom door at his home (above) in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year

Mr Roux asked what happened to some fragments from the door that went missing after police investigators took possession of it.  Col Vermeulen said he asked about the missing splinters, but repeatedly said he 'couldn't remember' which colleague he spoke to.
The forensics analyst also conceded that footprints that appeared to be from police boots were seen in evidence photos, but later rubbed off. Mr Roux argued they could have been made by Pistorius's prosthetic legs - which could have backed up a crucial argument by the sprinter that he was wearing them when he smashed down the door.
Col Vermeulen earlier argued Pistorius would have been on his stumps both when he fired the shots that killed Miss Steenkamp and when he broke down the door.
The lawyer also noted that Col Vermeulen had not read Pistorius's version of events on the night of the killing until after he had completed his forensic study of the door and was therefore leaning toward the prosecution's version of what happened.
The trial continues.

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