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Pistorius trial: Reeva Steenkamp shot in 'rapid fire'

April 16th, 2014 | Tags: Reeva Steenkamp rapid fire Oscar Pistorious
Oscar Pistorius spent seven gruelling days under cross-examination. BBC Photo
BBC

The girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius was shot in quick succession as she fell down, a forensics expert has told the South African athlete's murder trial.

This differs from a police ballistics witness who said there was short break between the first and second shots.

Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp in early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

He says he fired rapidly in fear through the toilet door after he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder.

The prosecution says the 29-year-old model and law graduate was deliberately killed after the couple had an argument.

Analysis

The focus has now shifted from Oscar Pistorius' distress on the stand to some technical evidence from his team's second expert witness, forensic geologist Roger Dixon. He may not be an orator but his testimony forms a crucial part of bolstering Mr Pistorius' version of events.

Mr Dixon, who is something of an all-round expert having formerly worked with the police, gave wide-ranging evidence on the stand, including his findings on the light in Mr Pistorius' house at night, sound tests and ballistics analysis.

But it is this wide-ranging nature of his evidence that Prosecutor Gerrie Nel is calling into question. Mr Nel suggested to the court that the methods used for the tests were quite pedestrian, implying that a layman could have done them.

Mr Dixon conceded, perhaps more than he would have liked to, that he was not an expert on many of the fields he testified on, but stuck to his findings. He tried to explain to the court how, as a scientist, he has used the fundamental principles applied in geology to analyse the crime scene and all its elements.

The double amputee Olympic and Paralympic athlete faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Forensics expert Roger Dixon, a defence witness, says Ms Steenkamp was standing at an angle to the door and that all four bullets hit her as fell to the ground.

Earlier in the trial, ballistics expert Captain Christiaan Mangena said he believed Ms Steenkamp was standing up facing the closed door when she was hit in the right hip.

He said she then fell back onto a magazine rack next to the toilet before three more bullets were fired at the door, one of which missed her.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in court says Mr Dixon's testimony challenges the state's version that Ms Steenkamp would have had time to scream after the first bullet and that Mr Pistorius then changed aim and continued firing.

On Tuesday, Mr Dixon told the court his tests showed that with the light out, Mr Pistorius' bedroom would have been almost completely dark on the evening of the shooting, despite a couple of LED lights.

This also supports Mr Pistorius' evidence that he did not see whether Ms Steenkamp was still in bed when he got up.

The court also heard sound recordings Mr Dixon had made - of a cricket bat striking a door similar to the one in Mr Pistorius' toilet, and of gunshots fired through the door at a distance of 60m (196ft) and 180m.

 

Oscar Pistorius reads out the message in his Valentine card

Mr Dixon seemed to struggle to tell the sounds apart, which the defence will use to cast doubt on what neighbours say they heard that night, our correspondent says.

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However well his forensic experts proceed to shore up his testimony in the coming days, Mr Pistorius' credibility has been damaged”

Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman scream followed by gun shots, but the defence disputes their testimony, saying the only scream came from Mr Pistorius - after he had fired.

But prosecutor Gerrie Nel has sought to cast doubt on Mr Dixon's credibility and qualifications as a forensics witness during his cross examination on Wednesday.

Mr Dixon is a geologist and university lecturer who worked as head of materials analysis at a police forensic laboratory in Pretoria for 18 years until 2012.

At the start of proceedings on Wednesday, the judge agreed to an application to postpone the case after Thursday's hearings until 5 May.

Mr Dixon took the stand after seven days of testimony from the sprinter came to an end with him reading a Valentine's Day card from his girlfriend.

Forensic expert Roger Dixon points at the door through which Reeva Steenkamp was shot, 15 April 2014Mr Dixon told the court that in his opinion the bullets were fired first then the cricket bat was used
A picture taken on 26 January 26 2013 shows Olympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius posing next to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in JohannesburgOscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp had been dating for three months

If Mr Pistorius is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.

He also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, both of which he denies.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

Mr Pistorius is known as the "Blade Runner" because of the carbon-fibre prosthetics he uses on the track.

 
 

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