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Oscar Pistorius |
OSCAR: GRIM TESTIMONY CONTINUES - Sapa
Wounds to Reeva Steenkamp's head and right arm would have caused arterial spurting and a trail of blood in Oscar Pistorius's house after he shot her, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
"The volume of blood in the head would have been a good source for the constant dripping blood down the stairwell," said blood spatter analyst Colonel Ian van der Nest.
The other main source of blood would have been her right arm, which ballistics expert Captain Chris Mangena testified earlier was hit when she was in a defensive position.
Van der Nest said, according to analysis of the toilet seat, that the blood found there should be in keeping with a "significant event" near the toilet and "the head coming in contact with the toilet seat".
"The deceased sustained a wound to the head in the surrounds of the toilet area," he said.
Steenkamp's mother June returned from the tea break to see the images of her daughter's blood on a screen next to her in court.
A woman from the ANC Woman's League hugged her tight as she sat down.
Pistorius sat with his head down after huddling with his lawyers during the tea break.
Van der Nest said he found other debris on the inside of the toilet lid.
"It could be brain, it could be skin matter," he said.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contravening the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
He has pleaded not guilty.
He said he thought there was an intruder in the house when he fired into the toilet, realising only afterwards it was Steenkamp.
FALLING BULLET CAN KILL: OSCAR TRIAL - Sapa
The bullet Oscar Pistorius fired out of the open sunroof of a car could have killed someone, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
Had the bullet been fired into the air vertically, it would have fallen back to earth at a speed of about 80 metres per second, ballistics expert Chris Mangena said to questioning by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
He was testifying about one of two counts of contravening the Firearms Control Act Pistorius is charged with.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
"To penetrate a human body you need about 50 metres per second. You can kill someone."
Asked what would happen if the bullet was fired at an angle, Mangena said: "At an angle you can still kill a person."
Nel had briefly digressed from questioning Mangena about Pistorius's shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home in the early hours of February 14 last year.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contravening the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
OSCAR TRIAL: COURT HEARS OF BLOOD TRAIL - Sapa
Reeva Steenkamp's blood left an s-shaped trail in Oscar Pistorius's house caused by an arterial spurt, the judge in his murder trial was told on Wednesday.
"The serpentine or 's' shape -- that's typical of what you would expect in an arterial spurting pattern," blood spatter analyst Colonel Ian van der Nest told the High Court in Pretoria.
When Judge Thokozile Masipa asked for a definition of arterial, he replied: "arterial, from an artery".
He began by explaining that the blood residue found on an armchair in a downstairs sitting room at Pistorius's home in Silver Woods estate, would have come from upstairs.
"The open area above the landing makes the area accessible to arterial staining if there is someone with an arterial spurt in that area," he said.
Walking through the house on February 15, when his analysis was conducted, he observed a combination of "contact staining, drip staining as well as arterial spurt".
He said one of the notes made at Steenkamp's post mortem was that she had long hair and that her hair was blood-soaked.
Her grey shorts were also saturated with blood.
This was the main cause of the "drip trail" he found, he said.
Pistorius has admitted to shooting through the door of the toilet cubicle in his bathroom. He said in his bail application he thought there was an intruder in the house when he fired the shots.
He realised afterwards that it was Steenkamp, who was spending the night there. He broke into the toilet and took her downstairs.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contravening the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
BLOOD SPATTER EXPERT CALLED TO TESTIFY - Sapa
A police blood spatter expert was called to testify in paralympian Oscar Pistorius's murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Colonel Ian van der Nest said to questioning from prosecutor Gerrie Nel he had been with the police forensics laboratory for 20 years.
He had a BSc degree and an honours in biochemistry from Rhodes University.
He was asked to attend Reeva Steenkamp's post mortem.
"I made observational notes and assisted in measuring the wounds," he said, speaking clearly.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the locked toilet door in his Silver Woods Country Estate townhouse in the early hours of February 14 last year. He has claimed he mistook her for an intruder.
"My interest was to address several investigative questions posed to me, including the appearance of blunt force trauma on the deceased's body... blue discolouration of the eyes, extensive staining of the scene, and staining of the cricket bat."
Questioned by Nel on two blood drops on an armchair on the ground floor of Pistorius's home, Van der Nest said: "It was an artefact from an arterial spurt that had arisen from above."
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contravening the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013. On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
Pistorius has denied guilt on all charges.
BURGER TESTIMONY DRAWN ON IN PISTORIUS TRIAL - Sapa
The sequence of shots a witness in Oscar Pistorius's murder trial said she heard could tie in with a ballistic analyst's reconstruction of Reeva Steenkamp's last moments, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel drew on the testimony of the first witness in the case, Michelle Burger, as he wrapped up the examination of Captain Chris Mangena.
"Michelle Burger, the first witness, said she heard the following: 'a shot, a pause, a shot, shot, shot," said Nel.
He wanted to know if this would tie in with his evidence.
"My Lady, that is possible," said Mangena.
"You have one shot, a break and the other three shots, it is possible," said Mangena.
He was thanked for giving evidence by Judge Thokozile Masipa and left the witness stand.
Colonel Ian van der Nest, a blood spatter expert, then took the stand.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contravening the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
BALLISTICS EXPERT CHALLENGES ROUX - Sapa
A police ballistics expert put up a spirited fight in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday when challenged on his findings over Reeva Steenkamp's fatal injuries
Barry Roux, for murder accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius, was trying to get Captain Chris Mangena to concede that bone and bullet fragments could have caused wounds to the back of Reeva Steenkamp's hand.
She would have been holding her hand against her head when she was shot in the head.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door in his Silver Woods Country Estate townhouse in the early hours of February 14 last year, apparently thinking she was an intruder.
"If the left hand was close to the head what would have happened to the bone and the bullet fragments?" Roux asked Mangena.
Roux said the fragments would have struck the inside of Steenkamp's hand.
"I disagree with that. I would have expected the bullets and fragments to travel to the back [of the head]," Mangena replied.
He repeatedly disagreed with Roux's versions.
"There won't be bone fragments coming back. I've never seen that," he said, sounding annoyed.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013. On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
BALLISTICS ANALYST TESTIFIES - Sapa
The defence for murder-accused Oscar Pistorius challenged on Wednesday the findings of a police ballistics analyst who reconstructed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp's last moments.
Barry Roux SC and Captain Chris Mangena had a rapid fire exchange starting with Mangena's finding that Steenkamp fell on to a magazine rack when the first shot through a toilet door at his Pretoria home hit her in the right hip.
Roux said in the High Court in Pretoria this finding was inconsistent with tests the defence had conducted, but Mangena stood his ground.
He conceded that a specific test of the magazine rack had not been conducted, but based on his other ballistic findings in the case and his 19 years' experience in ballistics he did not accept Roux's version.
He had also not done specific tests on the spread of splinters found on Steenkamp's arm after the bullet went through the door to support his finding that she had her arm in a defensive position in front of her.
Mangena did not feel this additional test was necessary as his other analysis supported his findings.
Pistorius has already admitted that he shot Steenkamp, saying during his bail application he thought there was an intruder when he fired four shots through the toilet door. He only realised afterwards that it was Steenkamp.
Mangena was asked if he would conduct these tests now and he turned down the invitation.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
BULLETS BROKE UP IN REEVA'S BODY - Sapa
The Black Talon ammunition used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp broke up inside her body, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
"With this type of ammunition, My Lady, you get maximum wounding...It opens up if it hits the target," ballistics expert Captain Chris Mangena said to questions by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
He was testifying in Oscar Pistorius's murder trial.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the locked toilet door in his Silver Woods Country Estate townhouse in the early hours of February 14 last year, apparently thinking she was an intruder.
Nel asked Mangena to explain what he meant by target, saying the bullets had not broken up when they penetrated the toilet door.
"A human being," Mangena said.
"It creates six 'talons'. These talons are sharp and cut through the organs. If it hits a bone it breaks into fragments."
Pistorius sat leaning forward in the dock as Mangena spoke, pressing his hands to his ears. Steenkamp was shot in the hip, arm, and head.
Mangena said unlike full metal jacket ammunition, Black Talon ammunition did not pass through a human body as it broke up and lost all its energy.
He said the "most likely" position Pistorius was in when he fired the shots was on his stumps.
He explained the safety mechanism of the Glock 27 pistol used in the shooting. It had no thumb safety mechanism, but a "trigger safety".
"When you pull the trigger you have to pull it in the centre where the trigger safety is."
If the trigger was pulled lower down, or up, the safety would not be released and the firing pin would not move.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
REEVA'S LAST MOMENTS DESCRIBED - Sapa
June Steenkamp stole glances at photographs of a bloodied crime scene as a police ballistics analyst revealed in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday his version of the last moments of her daughter Reeva.
"She was in a defensive position," Christian Mangena testified, as Oscar Pistorius, who had been dating Steenkamp for a few months before he shot her, sat bent with his head in his hands.
June Steenkamp quickly looked away after each glance at the screen next to her, as Mangena took the court through his grim findings.
He had just testified that, according to bullet holes A and B on the door through which Pistorius shot his girlfriend Steenkamp, she had been hit in the hip and the second shot ricocheted.
The ricocheted bullet caused an injury to her back.
The effect of the Black Talon expanding bullet caused her to fall onto a magazine rack in the toilet cubicle.
"By then she was in a seated position with her back towards the wall," said Mangena.
He demonstrated the defensive position by bending over and crossing his arms over his chest and head.
"Now how do we determine that?" said Mangena, standing during his testimony.
She had an entrance and exit wound on her arm, with body tissue from her right arm transferred to the black vest she was wearing.
Bullet fragments damaged her vest, indicating her right arm was lifted up and was in front of the chest.
She had a wound to her left hand from when a bullet penetrated her head, said Mangena.
He demonstrated to the court that according to his findings, she would have had both hands over her head, with the left and right hand crossing on top of the head.
That bullet broke into two fragments.
One was removed during the post mortem on her body, and the other left her body to become the one that hit the wall.
"After this wound was inflicted, My Lady she dropped immediately," said Mangena.
From the seated position, she would have dropped to the right hand side of the toilet cubicle with the rest of her body on the magazine rack.
Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Steenkamp saying he thought there was in an intruder in the house and when he realised he had shot her, he broke down the door with a cricket bat to free her.
She died on the scene.
Pistorius also faces charges under the Firearms Act for the alleged discharge of firearms at a restaurant and out of the sunroof of a car.
Tweet: @GraemeHosken #OscarPistorius #OscarTrial @TimesLIVE defence claims Oscar killed Reeva with two "double taps"
FIRST BULLET BROKE REEVA'S HIP BONE - Sapa
The first bullet Oscar Pistorius fired at Reeva Steenkamp broke her hip bone and caused her to fall, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
"She was standing in front of the door, facing the door," police ballistics expert Captain Chris Mangena said to questioning by prosecutor Gerrie Nel in Pistorius's murder trial.
Pistorius shot his girlfriend through the locked toilet door in his Silver Woods Country Estate townhouse, apparently thinking she was an intruder.
"The bullet penetrated and broke the hip bone," Mangena said.
He said she fell and landed on top of the magazine rack, her back to the wall.
Mangena was able to establish this by lining up the wounds in Steenkamp's body with the bullet holes in the door. The distance between the heel and Steenkamp's hip wound was 93cm, and the height of the first bullet hole in the door 93.5cm.
Pistorius sat leaning forward in the dock, his thumbs pressed into his ears.
The second bullet missed her.
"Bullet B missed her, hit the tiles, and the fragments from the bullet hit her on the back."
The paralympic athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
Tweet: @GraemeHosken #OscarPistorius #OscarTrial @TimesLIVE Oscar cowers in dock as state ballistic expert testifies on bullet + trajectory + Reevas injuries
Tweet: @GraemeHosken #OscarPistorius #OscarTrial @TimesLIVE state ballistic expert says Reeva in defensive position when shot in the head
Tweet: @OscarsTrial #OscarPistorius OP has head down with hands up to his face and thumbs blocking his ears as Mangena continues
Tweet: @OscarsTrial #OscarPistorius fragments from the ricochet bullet hit RS in the back according to Mangena's report
Tweet: @OscarsTrial #OscarPistorius Mangena surmises that RS fell after hip shot and fell back on magazine rack
Tweet: Tweet: #OscarPistorius #OscarTrial @TimesLIVE state ballistic expert testifies Reeva standing + facing toilet door when first shot. 1st shot 2 hip
AIMEE GIVES JUNE STEENKAMP A LETTER - Sapa
Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius's sister Aimee handed a letter to Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June, before the start of the 13th day of his trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
June Steenkamp arrived in court shortly before 9am, wearing a black and white photo of her daughter on the lapel of her white jacket.
She greeted three members of the ANC Women's League sitting in the front row of the public gallery and sat down next to them.
Pistorius arrived a few minutes later and walked past her. He nodded at her but she did not look at him.
Pistorius's sister Aimee sat down next to one of the ANCWL members and handed her a note, which was passed on to June Steenkamp.
She read it and looked up in the direction of Pistorius.
Moments before the two siblings had stood together writing the note.
On Tuesday, police ballistics expert Captain Christian Mangena told the court during questioning by prosecutor Gerrie Nel that he used the post mortem report and police photographs to reconstruct the scene of Reeva Steenkamp's killing.
Pistorius shot his girlfriend through the locked toilet door in his Silver Woods Country Estate townhouse, apparently thinking she was an intruder.
Mangena testified how he used a laser and steel rods inserted into the four bullet holes in the door to determine the angle of the shots.
The holes are clustered on the right side of the door, under the keyhole.
They have been marked with white stickers with the letters A to D.
The paralympic athlete has been charged with premeditated murder and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.
On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
BALLISTIC COP'S TESTIMONY CONTINUES - Sapa
Ballistic expert Captain Christian Mangena is expected to testify on Wednesday whether Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was without his prosthetic legs when he fired shots that killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Taking the stand on Tuesday, Mangena told the High Court in Pretoria he had performed tests linking the holes in the toilet door through which the athlete fired his handgun with marks on the tiles, and the position of Steenkamp's fatal wounds.
The one bullet that missed Steenkamp was fired at a downwards angle of five to six degrees, Mangena said, adding that he had used laser technology to back up conventional ballistic tests.
After questioning Mangena at length about his methods and the results of his measurements, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said he would prefer to leave questions as to his conclusions for Thursday.
Mangena, the fourth police expert, followed on colleagues who were vigorously cross-examined by Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux as he seeks to make a case that police failed to preserve the scene of the shooting and tampered with evidence.
Pistorius has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp in his house on February 4 last year, but contends that he mistook her for an intruder.
He has also denied two charges of contravening the Firearms Control Act.
4 comments:
this trial is taken too long
ve they not gotten enof evidence already
lock him up
this will teach other people lesson
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