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Author Topic: Oscar Pistorius, is accused of shooting his girlfriend to death.  (Read 88210 times)
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« Reply #100 on: April 06, 2014, 04:06:11 PM »

http://time.com/51129/pistorius-to-finally-answer-questions-on-shooting/
Pistorius to Finally Answer Questions on Shooting
April 6, 2014

(PRETORIA, South Africa) — More than a year after he killed his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius is expected to finally answer questions about why he shot Reeva Steenkamp through a toilet door when his murder trial resumes this week and his defense lawyers begin presenting the evidence they hope will save the Olympic athlete from going to prison for 25 years to life.

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Pistorius’ account that he killed Steenkamp by mistake is going to “stand or fall” with his testimony in court, a legal expert says.

Charged with premeditated murder for Steenkamp’s death, Pistorius and his defense team say he will testify to counter accusations that he intentionally killed Steenkamp by firing four times through the door in his bathroom before dawn on Valentine’s Day last year, hitting her in the head, arm and hip. Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for a dangerous intruder hiding in a toilet cubicle.

South Africa has no trial by jury, meaning Judge Thokozile Masipa will pronounce Pistorius guilty or not guilty of murder, and Pistorius has the chance to convince her that he did not intentionally kill the 29-year-old model.

But Pistorius’ testimony also gives prosecutors the chance to cross-examine the celebrated double-amputee runner and scrutinize every aspect of his story.

Facing a possible life sentence, his questioning by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel could be the biggest challenge yet for the 27-year-old Pistorius, a disabled athlete who fought for years to win the right to compete alongside able-bodied runners and made history by running at the 2012 Olympics.

Brian Webber, one of Pistorius’ lawyers, said they had no choice but to put Pistorius on the stand. Legal experts say it’s a risk Pistorius’ defense has to take. In a rare comment after the prosecution closed its case, Pistorius said “we have a lot ahead of us.”
 
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« Reply #101 on: April 07, 2014, 09:10:38 AM »

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/07/the-fate-of-oscar-pistorius-stands-or-falls-with-his-testimony-expected-today/?tid=pm_national_pop
Oscar Pistorius takes the stand: ‘I was simply trying to protect Reeva.’
April 7, 2014

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« Reply #102 on: April 09, 2014, 09:12:54 AM »

The shooting was no "accident" as Oscar has tried to portray it.  Accident's aren't shooting a powerful weapon four times through a closed door.  Accidents could be like dropping a gun and it goes off etc.  Whether Oscar knew Reeva was behind the door or not, he needs to face serious consequences for what he did.  He should do time in the slammer and never, ever have a firearm in his possession again.  Oscar had firearms training.  What he did is inexcusable even if he didn't know Reeva was behind the door.  JMHO

Reeva is the victim.  While Oscar wails, cries, pukes and carries on, Reeva's life is gone.  Forever.  No do overs.  No going back.  I believe Oscar should spend some time in prison for his deed and not be allowed to have firearms or ammunition in his possession for the rest of his life.   JMHO

If Oscar shot Reeva to death through a closed door, (if he knew it was her)  shame, shame, shame.      
 
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« Reply #103 on: April 09, 2014, 05:24:02 PM »

The shooting was no "accident" as Oscar has tried to portray it.  Accident's aren't shooting a powerful weapon four times through a closed door.  Accidents could be like dropping a gun and it goes off etc.  Whether Oscar knew Reeva was behind the door or not, he needs to face serious consequences for what he did.  He should do time in the slammer and never, ever have a firearm in his possession again.  Oscar had firearms training.  What he did is inexcusable even if he didn't know Reeva was behind the door.  JMHO

Reeva is the victim.  While Oscar wails, cries, pukes and carries on, Reeva's life is gone.  Forever.  No do overs.  No going back.  I believe Oscar should spend some time in prison for his deed and not be allowed to have firearms or ammunition in his possession for the rest of his life.   JMHO

If Oscar shot Reeva to death through a closed door, (if he knew it was her)  shame, shame, shame.      
 

If he thought there was an intruder and trying to protect Reeva - he should have tried to get her out of there and away from an intruder that was locked in the bathroom?  Don't ya think?
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« Reply #104 on: April 10, 2014, 09:14:24 AM »

The shooting was no "accident" as Oscar has tried to portray it.  Accident's aren't shooting a powerful weapon four times through a closed door.  Accidents could be like dropping a gun and it goes off etc.  Whether Oscar knew Reeva was behind the door or not, he needs to face serious consequences for what he did.  He should do time in the slammer and never, ever have a firearm in his possession again.  Oscar had firearms training.  What he did is inexcusable even if he didn't know Reeva was behind the door.  JMHO

Reeva is the victim.  While Oscar wails, cries, pukes and carries on, Reeva's life is gone.  Forever.  No do overs.  No going back.  I believe Oscar should spend some time in prison for his deed and not be allowed to have firearms or ammunition in his possession for the rest of his life.   JMHO

If Oscar shot Reeva to death through a closed door, (if he knew it was her)  shame, shame, shame.      
 

If he thought there was an intruder and trying to protect Reeva - he should have tried to get her out of there and away from an intruder that was locked in the bathroom?  Don't ya think?




 
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« Reply #105 on: April 10, 2014, 10:49:00 AM »

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/25210058/prosecutor-pistorius-is-untruthful-an-egotist
Prosecutor: Pistorius is untruthful, an egotist
April 10, 2014

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - A prosecutor hammered at Oscar Pistorius' credibility at his murder trial Thursday, asserting that the star athlete had a string of unlikely excuses for why he wasn't to blame in the three gun charges he faces on top of murder.

In casting doubt on the Olympian's honesty while cross-examining him, prosecutor Gerrie Nel was pushing the prosecution's argument that Pistorius is also lying about killing his girlfriend by mistake in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine's Day last year.

Nel asserted that the double-amputee Paralympic champion wouldn't "accept responsibility for anything" and reacted incredulously to Pistorius' explanation of why a gun he was handling went off under a table in a packed restaurant, for which he was charged with firing a gun in public without good reason.

Pistorius said a friend's pistol, a Glock, went off while he was holding it but insisted that he hadn't pulled the trigger. A police expert testified earlier at the trial that the Glock couldn't be fired without the trigger being pulled.

Nel said: "We have you in possession of the gun, a shot went off, but you didn't discharge the gun? ... I'm putting it to you, you fired that gun. There is no other way," Nel said. "You are lying."

"I respect Mr. Nel's comment," Pistorius replied, "but I didn't pull the trigger on that firearm."

The incident in a trendy Johannesburg restaurant happened just weeks before he shot to death his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, 2013.

Pistorius also said two witnesses, a former girlfriend and a friend, were both lying about an incident in 2012 when the runner is alleged to have fired his gun out the sunroof of a moving car. He has been charged with a firearms violation in this incident.

Pistorius said he wasn't guilty of yet another charge against him, illegal possession of ammunition for .38-caliber ammunition found in a safe in his home after he killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius said his estranged father had put the bullets into the safe and that they belonged to the father. But Nel said Pistorius' father Henke had "refused" to make a statement to police on the ammunition being his.

"You just don't want to accept responsibility for anything," Nel said to Pistorius. Pistorius' answers to the accusations were short denials.

Pistorius, 27, says Steenkamp's death was a terrible accident after he mistook her for an intruder and fired four times with his licensed 9 mm pistol through a toilet door and into a cubicle. Prosecutors say he intended to kill the 29-year-old after a loud argument heard by witnesses and charged him with premeditated murder - for which he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Pistorius insisted again Thursday that the shooting was an accident and he did not intentionally fire four shots.
 
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« Reply #106 on: April 10, 2014, 07:34:08 PM »

http://mg.co.za/article/2014-04-10-oscar-pistorius-tests-new-limits-of-disability
Oscar Pistorius tests new limits of disability
April 11, 2014

Did the Bladerunner's athletic success really lose him the right to claim he feels vulnerable?

Some say murder accused Oscar Pistorius is doing people with disabilities a disservice by blaming a heightened sense of vulnerability on his lack of lower legs. Others say Pistorius is right: disabled people are seen as soft targets, and serious debate is needed on whether they should get subsidised handguns.

The Paralympic athlete, on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, started giving evidence this week in the Pretoria high court and everyone seems happy that disability came into the spotlight and hope it will change the lives of others, regardless of the outcome.

"In the most unlikely event that he is found guilty and must serve a sentence, then the discussion becomes what kind of facility he must go to, and whether it is friendly to the disabled," Olwethu Sipuka, the spokesperson for activist group Disabled People South Africa (DPSA), said.

As a successful Paralympian, Pistorius was a role model to other people with disabilities, but he became a universal superstar by breaking into the able-bodied Olympics. Organisations that had long struggled to convince the country that disability could be conquered suddenly found the going much easier and exploited the opportunity.

But it has become clear that opinions are sharply divided.

Medal vs pistol
"You can't hold up a gold medal in one hand and a pistol in another," said Ari Seirlis, chief executive of the lobby and advocacy group, QuadPara Association of South Africa. "We chose not to say a word, but then Oscar started the debate [and] said to the world 'I feel vulnerable because of my disability'.

"And we're saying he didn't earn the right to use that as an excuse; when he earned the gold, he took away his right to use that excuse."

In many ways, people with disabled are considered a homogeneous group. Had he met the income and asset thresholds, Pistorius, one of the fastest men on the planet, would have qualified for the same state disability grant as a quadriplegic with little or no mobility.

In the Paralympics, however, distinctions are drawn between different types of disability to make competition fairer and therein lies Seirlis's bugbear: in Paralympic terms, Pistorius is among the most abled of the disabled.

Seirlis's organisation was among those that made a poster child out of Pistorius and featured him on the front page of its magazine.

Tax exemptions
The day before he shot Reeva Steen­kamp, Seirlis said, Pistorius phoned him for help with the paperwork that would allow him to import a Maclaren sports car without paying the usual duty (which is waived for vehicles modified for use by disabled people). But now Seirlis uses phrases such as "scraping the bottom of the barrel" about Pistorius.

"We feel he has downgraded the view that people have of us in order to try and get himself some leeway with the judge and the assessors," Seirlis said.

But that is far from a universal view. The DPSA is gravely concerned about the risks faced by disabled people, Sipuka said. The fear of violent crime is rooted in reality, even for Pistorius.

"People are saying, 'Why would this disabled person have so many firearms?' – because this is a guy who understands the kind of society we find ourselves in, where people with disabilities are soft targets and are victimised.

"Many of our members with wheelchairs have guns. In the townships, they tell us that, when they come from getting their grants, they know they [the criminals] will attack."

Subsidised handguns
No organisation for people with disabilities wants to court controversy but, in private, some have floated the suggestion that handguns should be subsidised, tax-free, easily accessible, or all three, for people able to use them but limited in their mobility and ability.

But they will settle for some attention, by way of the Pistorius trial, to be paid to the disadvantages disabled people face in dealing with the legal system – the lack of sign-language interpreters to take statements and complaints from the deaf, the lack of Braille transcripts of court proceedings, the wheelchair-unfriendly nature of public buildings and the inaction over pleas for help, protection and support.
 
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« Reply #107 on: April 10, 2014, 07:39:47 PM »

 scratch

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2014/04/pistorius-admits-no-reason-to-fire-fatal-shots/
Pistorius admits ‘no reason’ to fire fatal shots
April 10, 2014

 
The Olympian has said he fired the shots accidentally and did not mean to kill anyone. He testified that he feared someone was coming through the toilet door and that his life was in danger.

This seemingly contradictory account was probed at length by Nel, who drew a concession from Pistorius that the shots should not have been fired at all.

“We know for a fact there were no intruders in your house that night, we know for a fact there was no ladder against the wall,” Nel said.

“We know for a fact that you had no reason to shoot, objectively speaking.”

Pistorius responded: “That’s correct my lady.”

Regardless of who Pistorius believed was behind the door, he could face a stiff sentence if Judge Thokozile Masipa believes he purposely used lethal force without reasonable cause.
 
Nel spent most the first part of his cross-examination accusing Pistorius of being a selfish, controlling boyfriend and caring more about himself than the death of his girlfriend.

Nel tore into the 27-year-old’s account of his relationship with Steenkamp.

“It’s all about ‘I’. It’s all about Mr Pistorius,” Nel said, reading cell phone messages in which Steenkamp said she was upset and “scared” of Pistorius’s behaviour.

“She’s scared of the feelings that she has for me and the way that I brushed her off,” the athlete explained the message his girlfriend sent over social messenger WhatsApp.

Nel also accused Pistorius of making a public apology to Steenkamp’s parents just to make himself feel better.

“Did you feel better after the apology?” Nel asked facetiously.

Steenkamp’s mother June has said she wanted the Paralympian to see what he did to her daughter.

“He must see me there in the court, he must feel my eyes boring into him, I think it makes a lot of difference,” she told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper.
 
Nel also used questions about three gun charges to try and show that Pistorius was irresponsible.

Pistorius has denied firing a gun in public on two separate occasions, and the possession of unlicensed ammunition.

“I didn’t pull the trigger. I didn’t have time to think,” he said about firing a gun in a Johannesburg restaurant in 2012.

“‘I’m a gun enthusiast, I didn’t have time to think,’” Nel mimicked him sarcastically.

He also said his legal team had told him it was legal to keep his father’s ammunition in his home safe.

“It’s now the third occasion that you blame your legal team when you don’t want to take responsibility!” said an exasperated Nel.

Pistorius earlier blamed his lawyers for discrepancies between his accounts given in written statements and his later verbal testimony.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux is expected to call up to 17 more witnesses in the remainder of the case, to testify on ballistics, whether Steenkamp urinated, damage to the toilet door, sound, as well as Pistorius’s fear of crime and “vulnerability” on his stumps.
 
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« Reply #108 on: April 11, 2014, 09:54:43 AM »

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140411-704897.html
Oscar Pistorius's Fear of Crime Claim Under Spotlight During Murder Trial
April 11, 2014

PRETORIA--A South African prosecutor Friday sought to dismantle a central plank of Oscar Pistorius's defense that he shot and killed his girlfriend because he thought she was a burglar in his bathroom.

Capping a week of cross-examination, Prosecutor Gerrie Nel engaged a weary Mr. Pistorius in a set of terse exchanges about the final moments before the double-amputee track star fired four times through the closed bathroom door, killing 29-year old Reeva Steenkamp. Mr. Pistorius said he thought his life was in danger because of high crime in the area. Mr. Nel was incredulous, and insisted Mr. Pistorius sought to kill his girlfriend in a fit of rage.

"Is it reasonable for an intruder to run into a toilet and close the door?" Mr. Nel asked.

"It was a possibility," the 27-year-old runner replied.

"It's so far-fetched," Mr. Nel responded. "You knew that Reeva was behind the door, and you shot at her. That is the only thing that makes sense."

Mr. Pistorius took the stand to defend himself on Monday after a month of testimony from witnesses for the prosecution, who painted a portrait of a quick-tempered and impulsive star athlete who shirked responsibility for his actions. After his cross-examination is complete, the defense will call witnesses who are expected to support Mr. Pistorius's claims that he was a fearful of his safety in a country with a high rate of violent crime.
 
Prosecutors have charged Mr. Pistorius with premeditated murder, alleging that he shot Ms. Steenkamp after an argument overheard by some of his neighbors from his gated community in Pretoria. If convicted Mr. Pistorius could be sentenced to life in prison

Earlier Friday, Mr. Nel asked Mr. Pistorius how often he had reported crimes at a police station or been a victim of crime at his Pretoria home. Never, he said. Mr. Pistorius then added: "except the watches stolen by police" during their investigation after Ms. Steenkamp was killed.

Former police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg, who oversaw work at the crime scene, testified last month that at least one watch went missing during the investigation. He said the investigation is continuing.

Mr. Pistorius said Friday that he didn't trust the effectiveness of South African police enough to report several instances of crime against him in recent years.

Under questioning from Mr. Nel, he also said that police must have moved items in his bedroom, including a fan and a duvet. Crime-scene photos shown in court on Friday showed those items in different positions from his recollection of how things stood in the moments before he shot Ms. Steenkamp.

The prosecutor also challenged Mr. Pistorius's statement that he turned his burglar alarm off to let police and paramedics into his home in a gated community. Under a barrage of questions, the athlete said he didn't remember disabling it, but "must have" done so.

Judge Thokozile Masipa made a rare interjection, asking Mr. Pistorius if he was too tired to recall things clearly. Mr. Pistorius said he had simply made a mistake and could continue.
 
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« Reply #109 on: April 11, 2014, 10:10:51 AM »

I watched the video included in the article below.  In it, Oscar says he wished Reeva had screamed and let him know she was there, but she didn't.  Did he not call out to her?  Or ask "who is there?" in the bathroom?  Did he not call out and warn or find where Reeva was?  (supposedly he thought she was in bed)  It's not making sense for me.  Oscar is fighting for his life now.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26984693
As it happened: Oscar Pistorius trial day 20

Key Points

* Oscar Pistorius faced a third day of cross examination at his murder trial
 
* Prosecutor Gerrie Nel began the day asking Mr Pistorius about his alarm system at home
 
* The athlete was also asked why he did not check on his girlfriend when he heard a noise

* The South African athlete denies murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February 2013
 
*Mr Pistorius insists the shooting was an accident after he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder

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« Reply #110 on: April 11, 2014, 02:56:31 PM »

Why does he call the prosecutor MY LADY?
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« Reply #111 on: April 11, 2014, 03:04:51 PM »

if you google Crime-scene photos of Ms. Steenkamp. you will see some to help you try to understand
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« Reply #112 on: April 14, 2014, 08:39:53 AM »

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/14/pistorius-testimony-enters-second-week-as-prosecutor-continues-cross/
Pistorius reduced to tears on fourth day of cross-examination
April 14, 2014

The murder trial of Olympic and Paralymic athlete Oscar Pistorius was temporarily adjourned by the presiding judge Monday as the double-amputee runner broke down and began crying during cross-examination by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

Nel had begun to ask Pistorius about the moments before he shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day 2013 when the defendant began to sob.

The prosecutor, who had accused Pistorius of tailoring his account of the shooting to fit the evidence, asked Pistorius on Monday what exactly he said as he moved toward the bathroom where he shot Steenkamp, who was behind a closed door in the toilet cubicle.

Pistorius said he thought there was an intruder in the house and that he screamed "Get the [expletive] out of my house!" As he testified, he began to wail.

Pistorius is attempting to convince the judge that he killed girlfriend Steenkamp by mistake, having thought she was burglar.

However, his story has come under intense scrutiny from Nel, who argues that the defense account is a lie.
 
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« Reply #113 on: April 14, 2014, 08:46:35 AM »

http://abcnews.go.com/International/prosecutor-accuses-pistorius-tailoring-evidence/story?id=23314334
'I Did Not Fire at Reeva!' Pistorius Wails About Shooting
April 14, 2014

Oscar Pistorius broke down in the witness stand as Prosecutor Gerrie Nel relentlessly quizzed him today about the precise details on the night he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

 


Nel repeatedly questioned Pistorius about whether or not he intended to shoot at the perceived intruders behind the bathroom door, saying the athlete is changing his defense.

“My defense is I heard the noise, I didn’t have time to think, I fired out of fear,” Pistorius said. Nel targeted that statement, explaining that the athlete’s account had changed from self-defense to involuntary action.

“I did not fire at Reeva!” Pistorius wailed. As his sobbing continued, the court adjourned for a short time to allow Pistorius the chance to compose himself.

During today’s cross-examination, Nel continued to assault Pistorius’ credibility, questioning several statements Pistorius made previously that were not in his bail application or his plea explanation, saying they are examples of how Pistorius tailors his evidence.

The prosecutor, known in South Africa as the “Bull Terrier” for his no-holds-barred approach to cross-examination, questioned Pistorius about hearing a sound coming from the bathroom, alleging that Pistorius heard Steenkamp fall against a magazine rack and used that sound to adjust his aim.

Pistorius broke down on the stand when Nel asked him to repeat his exact words the night of the shooting. “I screamed, ‘Get the f*** out of my house … get the f***out of my house,’” Pistorius said, weeping.

 

Nel argued that Steenkamp’s clothing was packed in an overnight bag, with only her jeans in the bedroom, a clue that the couple had been fighting. Pistorius was also steadfast that the couple last ate at 7 p.m., despite the discovery of food in Steenkamp’s system.
 
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« Reply #114 on: April 15, 2014, 11:57:41 AM »

Why did Reeva have clothes packed?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/oscar-pistorius-days-cross-ends-teary-valentine/story?id=23328471
Oscar Pistorius' Five Days of 'Cross' End With Teary Valentine
April 15, 2014

Oscar Pistorius read in court today a heartbreaking Valentine's Day card that Reeva Steenkamp left behind on the day she was shot to death by Pistorius, a card that Pistorius' defense hoped would counter some of the effects of five grueling days of cross examination.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, I think today is a good day to tell you that I love you," the message reads.
 
Pistorius' defense lawyer Barry Roux asked him to read the card aloud in an apparent attempt to demonstrate the affection between the couple. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has previously told the court that none of the text messages Steenkamp sent Pistorius ever included the phrase "I love you."

Pistorius, 27, killed his girlfriend before dawn on Valentine's Day 2013 when he fired through a locked bathroom door. He is charged with murder in Steenkamp’s death. If convicted, he could face 25 years to life in prison. Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

The valentine was read in court after Nel wrapped up a blistering cross examination that often reduced Pistorius to sobs, emotional outbursts that Nel suggested were aimed at deflecting questions he struggled to answer.


 
Earlier, Nel showed the court photos of Pistorius' bedroom. He pointed out that Steenkamp's belongings, including her undergarments, were neatly packed in her overnight bag and her flip-flops were neatly laid out side-by-side. Her jeans, however, were found lying crumpled on the floor. Nel argued that they were on the floor because she wanted to leave, that she had attempted to put them back on at some point. Pistorius denied that she tried to leave.
 
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« Reply #115 on: April 15, 2014, 12:01:29 PM »

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27041156
Oscar Pistorius trial sees Reeva Steenkamp Valentine's card
April 15, 2014


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« Reply #116 on: April 15, 2014, 12:17:26 PM »

http://citizen.co.za/161173/reeva-possibly-reaching-door/
Reeva ‘was possibly reaching for door’
April 15, 2014

Reeva Steenkamp was possibly reaching for the toilet door handle when she was shot by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Tuesday.

Forensic expert Roger Dixon said he drew this conclusion from the splinters that pierced Steenkamp’s right arm and waist area.
 
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« Reply #117 on: April 15, 2014, 12:59:01 PM »

Changing stories is never a good sign.  JMHO

http://abcnews.go.com/International/oscar-pistorius-stumbled-testimony-experts/story?id=23332614
Oscar Pistorius May Have Stumbled With His Testimony, Experts Say
April 15, 2014

 
"His demeanor and antics .. did him more harm than good," said attorney Anton Smith. "It seemed at stages, as Nel stated, that Oscar Pistorius might have tailored his evidence during cross-examination. Also, during cross by Nel, a lot of questions were either left unanswered or evaded by Pistorius."

Lawyer Henk Louw agreed that Pistorius' demeanor and the discrepancies between his testimony in recent days and his bail application affidavit last year and his plea explanation at the start of the trial could count against him as "these factors all contribute to a credibility finding. The credibility of a witness, together with the evidence before the court, all play a role when the judge comes to a conclusion."

Among the discrepancies, Pistorius told the court that Steenkamp was awake moments before the shooting. That information was not mentioned in a statement by the athlete during his bail application last year.

During his testimony, Pistorius provided further details on the sounds he heard in the minutes leading up to the deadly shooting, like the window sliding open and the bathroom door slamming shut. These were also not in his bail application affidavit.

In describing what happened after he allegedly heard the window slide open, he said he grabbed his firearm from under the bed, whispered to Steenkamp to call the police and then went down a hallway towards the perceived threat. The information that he whispered to Steenkamp to call the police was also not included in the athlete's statement last year.

In describing how he frantically broke down the door and sat over his girlfriend, he testified that he realized she wasn't breathing. In his bail application, Pistorius said when he bashed open the door. he found Steenkamp slumped over, but still alive.

Gideon Scheepers, a defense lawyer, also said that Pistorius' description of being overcome with fear and firing the weapon by accident also presents a problem for his defense team.

"The fact that Pistorius changed his version from putative self defense, based on the fear that his life was threatened by an intruder, to involuntary action basically leaves his defense team with the task to explain the discrepancy between the version pleaded and put to the witnesses, and the new version advanced under cross examination." Scheepers said.
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« Reply #118 on: April 16, 2014, 10:40:36 AM »

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-15/pistorius-ends-testimony-after-prosecution-alleges-rage-shooting.html
Pistorius Prosecutor Attacks Defense Witness’s Expertise
April 16, 2014

The prosecution in Oscar Pistorius’s trial for killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp challenged the qualifications of the defense’s expert witness who testified about the crime scene.

Roger Dixon, a former police investigator, isn’t trained in blood spatter or sound and never physically touched evidence he gave an opinion on, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, today. Dixon, a university professor of geology, also doesn’t belong to a forensic investigative group, Nel said.

“Take it from me, I’m testing your integrity,” Nel said.
 
“I view myself as an expert because my testimony has been accepted in court a number of times,” Dixon said when Nel asked him if he considered himself qualified to give expert testimony in the trial. Dixon said he used his eyes as the instrument to measure how dark Pistorius’s bedroom was at night when the curtains were closed.

Dixon said while he isn’t a forensic pathologist or involved in ballistics, his “layman’s understanding” is if a bullet missed Steenkamp, as the prosecution argued, it would have broken up into more pieces and created different injuries.

“Now, Mr. Dixon, you call yourself a layman?” Nel said. “You gave the evidence, you were strong about it. Do you know how irresponsible it is to make inferences in areas where you’re not an expert?”

Defense lawyer Barry Roux started calling witnesses to back the Paralympian’s testimony that he feared for his life when he shot through the toilet cubicle door and that he didn’t know Steenkamp was not in the bed at the time because the room was too dark.
 
Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will give the final judgment in the case because South Africa doesn’t have a jury system, could consider a lesser charge of culpable homicide if she rules that the act wasn’t premeditated. Pistorius would face a minimum of 25 years in jail if convicted of premeditated murder.

Masipa agreed to a request from Nel for a postponement from tomorrow until May 5 because of a series of holidays in South Africa.

Known as the Blade Runner because of his J-shaped prosthetic running blades, Pistorius has been free on 1 million rand ($96,000) bail since February last year.
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« Reply #119 on: April 16, 2014, 11:37:44 AM »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/10770524/Oscar-Pistorius-forensic-expert-accused-of-irresponsible-evidence-to-murder-trial.html
Oscar Pistorius forensic expert accused of ‘irresponsible’ evidence to murder trial
Roger Dixon, a former police officer and “forensic geologist”, contradicts state ballistics and pathology evidence before conceding he’s “a layman” in both fields
April 16, 2014


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  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
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