Thread: Pistorius: The Trial of the Decade

Originally Posted by Mr Lick

Ms Viljoen followed the athlete inside his home when he went to get identification documents because she thought he was going to shoot himself, she added.

why did she want to watch ?

Originally Posted by barbaro

^ I'm getting tired of this "broken" shit.

One can just imagine the level of his blubbering when he receives the guilty verdict.

^Maybe he will be cold and detached then...No point bluffing when the cards are down...

Let him cry as the facts speak quite clearly as to his guilt.

Pistorius trial discusses Steenkamp last meal



Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp

• The 28th day of Oscar Pistorius's trial is hearing evidence on when Reeva Steenkamp may have eaten her last meal.

Witness Christina Lundgren, an anaesthetist, described when a stomach is likely to be emptied after eating.

She said the prosecution's argument that Ms Steenkamp's stomach would have been empty if she ate when Mr Pistorius said she did was "pure speculation".

Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp on 14 February last year.

The South African Paralympic sprinter says he accidentally shot her through a toilet door in a state of panic, mistaking her for an intruder.

'Gastric emptying'

Mr Pistorius had said the couple had dinner at about 1900 the evening Ms Steenkamp was killed. He said the couple went to sleep between 2100 and 2200.

The prosecution has argued that this cannot be true as Ms Steenkamp had food in her stomach at the time of her death.

This indicates that Ms Steenkamp ate later than Mr Pistorius said, and that this meant the couple could have been awake, and arguing, before the shooting, the prosecution says.

Ms Steenkamp was shot in the early hours of 14 February


Speaking on Thursday, Prof Lundgren, who was shown copies of the post mortem report, said there were many factors that could have delayed gastric emptying in Ms Steenkamp's stomach, including sleep, exercise, medication, and her age.

"In an ideal world, after six hours of fasting after [the] meal her stomach should probably have been empty. But there are so many unknowns about possible factors that might have delayed gastric emptying," she said.

"One cannot state it as being fact" that Ms Steenkamp's stomach would have been empty six hours after eating, Prof Lundgren said. "I would say it is purely speculative."


'Normal circumstances'

In his cross-examination, prosecutor Gerrie Nel indicated that Prof Lungdren's list of factors that could delay gastric emptying may not apply to Ms Steenkamp.

He added that in normal circumstances one would expect the stomach to be empty eight hours after eating food.

If found guilty, Mr Pistorius - a national sporting hero and double amputee dubbed the "blade runner" because of the prosthetic limbs he wears to race - could face life imprisonment.

If he 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 ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors

What a load of distorted speculation from Professor Lundgren.

Gerrie Nel is being generous in saying that in normal circumstances the stomach'd be empty 8 hours after food.
It'd be empty within less than two or three hours after eating, as on average, it takes around 30 or so hours for fully digested food to be eliminated as faeces.

After eight hours that food will be somewhere in the small intestine, way past the duodenum.
Stomach would be empty of food after eight hours, or very nearly so, unless Steenkamp was chronically afflicted with digestive problems.

It doesn't take much more than one and a half hours for stomach contents to digest and be passed into the duodenum, some cases longer, up to three hours. Anyone who's stomach hasn't emptied after several (8-9) hours is visibly unwell, indigestion, bloating, flatulence to the max.

Pistorius trial: Doubts raised over ballistics evidence





Watch coverage of the murder trial of the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius


A ballistics expert at the murder trial of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has questioned the state's version of how he shot his girlfriend.

Defence witness Tom Wolmarans says wounds show Reeva Steenkamp may have been standing when first shot.

The double-amputee Paralympian denies intentionally shooting Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

The prosecution alleges he shot her dead after a row and that she was cowering from him in the toilet.

He says he accidentally shot her through the toilet door in a state of panic, mistaking the 29-year-old model and law graduate for an intruder.

'Home sold'

Mr Wolmarans, a former police officer, says all four shots hit Ms Steenkamp.



Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp (right), has attended most of the trial



Oscar Pistorius' sister Aimee has also been following the trial




Tom Wolmarans said he disputed the state's reconstruction of how the bullets were fired
The state alleges one missed and ricocheted off a wall and injured her back and that the final bullet hit her hand and head as she was sitting in a defensive position.

But Mr Wolmarans said splinter evidence showed the model was leaning forward towards the door when the first bullet hit her hip.

The next bullet hit her arm, the third bullet her hand and the last bullet hit her head as she was falling backwards, he said.

On Thursday the court heard evidence about when Ms Steenkamp may have eaten her last meal.

Prof Christina Lundgren, an anaesthetist, described when a stomach is likely to be emptied after eating.



The couple had been dating for just a few months when she was shot dead in 2013
She said the prosecution's argument that Ms Steenkamp's stomach would have been empty if she had eaten when Mr Pistorius said she had done was "pure speculation".

Social worker Yvette van Schalkwyk, who also gave evidence on Thursday, said Mr Pistorius was "heartbroken" after the killing.





Meanwhile, it has been reported that Mr Pistorius, 27, has sold his home in the Silverwoods Estate where Ms Steenkamp died.

He put the house on the market at the end of March in order to fund his legal costs, one of his lawyers said at the time.

An estate agent confirmed to South Africa's Beeld newspaper that a sale was under way

BBC News - Pistorius trial: Doubts raised over ballistics evidence

Originally Posted by Mr Lick

On Thursday the court heard evidence about when Ms Steenkamp may have eaten her last meal.

Prof Christina Lundgren, an anaesthetist, described when a stomach is likely to be emptied after eating.

She said the prosecution's argument that Ms Steenkamp's stomach would have been empty if she had eaten when Mr Pistorius said she had done was "pure speculation".

The good doctor's view is also speculative.

The onus of proof lies with her in demonstrating that Reeva had a precondition that precluded normal elimination rates of stomach contents.
Gastric retention is always accompanied by digestive problems, nausea, vomiting, small meals, nervousness, anxiety etc, to a greater or lesser degree.

In Steenkamp's case, traces, (?) amounting to 200ml or so of food (mainly vegetable,...usually pass through the stomach quite quickly) were found in her stomach, which can indicate a recent vegetarian meal, as no meat protein was found, which takes longer to digest and so should have been present in her stomach for some time after the vegetable matter passed into the duodenum.


It's more likely that those traces (200 ml of vegetable matter) found were remains from a recent meat free meal eaten within the previous two hours, max.

Oscar Pistorius has an anxiety disorder and is a "distrusting and guarded" person who is "hyper-vigilant" about security, the athlete's murder trial has heard.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryl Vorster offered a rare insight into the athlete's mindset, saying he often feels "isolated and alone" and normally keeps his thoughts and feelings bottled up.

She spoke at length about his childhood, saying his mother was a "very anxious person" who slept with a gun under her pillow and "abused alcohol intermittently".

He views his father as an "irresponsible and mostly absent parent", the court heard, and he and his siblings - brother Carl and sister Aimee - were "reared to view the world as threatening".

Pistorius was described as a "distrusting and guarded person"
Dr Vorster went on to talk about the 27-year-old's "fight or flight response", claiming he is more likely to stand up to threatening situations than to flee, as his capacity to do so is limited by his disability.

Pistorius had both legs amputated when he was 11 months old - an operation he would have perceived as a "traumatic assault" because he would not have known what was happening, she said.

The psychiatrist also told the court the insistence of his parents that he should take part in activities his friends enjoyed would have added to his stress and anxiety.

As he became more famous, she said, the Paralympian attempted to hide his disability.

He felt anxious about attending public events and would spend "many hours preparing for them so he would not embarrass himself", she added.

Dr Vorster said Pistorius worries about his family's safety, especially his sister's, even when he is away training in Italy.

While in South Africa, he "worries about being followed and about the security of his home", she said.

He sleeps with his bedroom door locked and wakes often during the night, believing he has heard noises in his house, she added.

The court heard the Paralympian's increased anxiety levels mean he "perceives his surroundings as being threatening when perhaps they're not".
Oscar Pistorius 'Suffers From Anxiety Disorder'

Originally Posted by Mr Lick

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

As a lawyer I can understand doing a clown show like this in front of a jury, all you need is one wacko juror to hold out against conviction, but doing this in front of a Judge defies anything I was taught in law school or by senior lawyers.

Pistorius psychiatrist suffers heart attack



The Olympic and Paralympic track star has been reporting for psychiatric tests for the past month




A psychiatrist who evaluated Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in the trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, has suffered a heart attack.

But this is not expected to delay the trial, which resumes on Monday, the prosecution say.

Mr Pistorius is due to complete a 30-day psychiatric assessment on Friday.

The judge in his trial ordered the tests after a defence witness said the double amputee was suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Gad).

Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing his girlfriend and says he accidentally shot her through the toilet door on Valentine's Day last year in a state of panic, mistaking the 29-year-old model and law graduate for an intruder.

Mr Pistorius checked in as a day patient to Pretoria's Weskoppies psychiatric hospital on 26 May, where he has been assessed by a team of health experts for seven hours a day.

Three psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist were tasked to determine whether his state of mind and disability had an effect on him when he shot Ms Steenkamp.


South Africa's eNCA broadcaster earlier reported that the psychiatrist's heart attack may have caused a delay in the handing over of the Paralympian's psychiatric evaluation report.

The psychiatrist in question, Dr Leon Fine, had not yet signed the report, according to eNCA's website.

The prosecution had argued the tests were essential after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, who diagnosed the athlete with Gad, told the court he was "a danger to society".

The defence vigorously opposed the move.

The court in Pretoria is expected to hear the outcome of the medical tests when the trial resumes on Monday


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28060957

^ No wonder!

The stress he was going through attempting to evaluate and counsel that nutter Pistorius would have been enough to give anyone a stroke!

Oscar Pistorius 'had no mental disorder', trial hears


Watch coverage of the murder trial of the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius trial

• Behind the drama
• Unresolved questions
• Pistorius 'damaged not destroyed'
• Week seven round-up

Oscar Pistorius did not have a mental disorder when he killed his girlfriend, a psychological report has said as his murder trial resumed.

The report was presented following an evaluation into his mental health.

His defence team has argued he was suffering from an anxiety disorder at the time of the shooting.

The athlete denies deliberately killing Reeva Steenkamp. He says he shot her accidentally in a state of panic after mistaking her for an intruder.

Both prosecution and defence have accepted the results of the report.

The defence team is now hearing from Dr Gerry Versfeld, who amputated Mr Pistorius' legs.

Dr Versfeld is testifying about the impact of the disability on the athlete.

The defence is expected to finish presenting its evidence in the next few days.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, was shot through a toilet door at Oscar Pistorius's house in Pretoria on Valentine's Day last year.

The couple had been dating for three months.

Criminally responsible?

The trial was adjourned on 20 May after Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered Mr Pistorius, 27, to undergo a month of tests as an outpatient at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital in Pretoria.

The prosecution requested the evaluation after a defence witness said the double amputee was suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Gad).



Mr Pistorius says he mistook Reeva Steenkamp - model and law graduate - for an intruder

Four appointed psychiatrists were to "inquire into whether the accused by reason of mental illness or mental defect was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible for the offence as charged", Judge Masipa said.

The team was to decide whether he was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act".

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, so the athlete's fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

If found guilty of murder, Mr Pistorius, who went on trial on 3 March this year, could face life imprisonment. If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.




Generalised Anxiety Disorder

The BBC's Michelle Roberts explains Generalised Anxiety Disorder

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a medically-recognised, long-term condition
• People with Gad feel anxious on most days and worry about a wide range of issues
• It is thought to affect around one in 25 people at some point in their lives and is more common in women than in men
• Symptoms vary - making it tricky to diagnose
• People with Gad may have difficulty concentrating, feel tired and irritable, feel sick, dizzy or sweaty and experience aches and pains
• Gad tends to run in families, can follow stressful events, and may be linked to chemical imbalances in the brain
• The main treatments include using talking therapies, relaxation techniques and medication

BBC News - Oscar Pistorius 'had no mental disorder', trial hears

...a long reach and a miss by the defense.

Oscar Pistorius trial: Some witnesses 'refused to testify'




Milton Nkosi: Some witnesses refused to testify because of publicity around the case

Pistorius trial

• Harding: How did defence fare?
• Behind the drama
• Unresolved questions
• Pistorius 'damaged not destroyed'

Some witnesses refused to testify at the televised trial of Oscar Pistorius because of the publicity, the South African athlete's lawyer has said.

They did not want "their voices all over the world", Barry Roux told the court as his team ended its case.

The court has now adjourned until 7 August for closing arguments


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28212964

Oscar Pistorius in row at Johannesburg club



If found guilty of murder, Oscar Pistorius could face life imprisonment


Pistorius trial

• Harding: How did defence fare?
• Behind the drama
• Unresolved questions
• Pistorius 'damaged not destroyed'

South African athlete and murder accused Oscar Pistorius was involved in an argument at a nightclub at the weekend, his spokesperson has said.

Mr Pistorius had an altercation with businessman Jared Mortimer who said he was drunk, The Star newspaper says.

Mr Pistorius' spokesperson said the argument took place after Mr Mortimer started to "aggressively interrogate" him about his murder trial.

Mr Pistorius denies murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He says he mistook her for an intruder, but the prosecution says he deliberately shot her dead after an argument.

Ms Steenkamp was killed at Mr Pistorius' home in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, on 14 February 2013.


'Bouncers intervene'

Mr Mortimer said he got involved in a row with Mr Pistorius at the nightclub in Johannesburg's upmarket suburb of Sandton, after the athlete insulted his friends and South African President Jacob Zuma's family, The Star reports.



Mr Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp had been dating for three months before the fatal shooting




"I took that personally because I am very good friends with a member of the Zuma family," Mr Mortimer is quoted as saying.

Mr Mortimer said the Olympic sprinter was intoxicated and started to poke him in the chest while they were talking.

The businessman said he then pushed Mr Pistorius away from him and the athlete fell over a chair.

The club's bouncers helped Mr Pistorius up, but were asked to remove him after he "had a confrontation with another man", Mr Mortimer is quoted as saying.

Anneliese Burgess, a spokeswoman for Mr Pistorius' family, disputed Mr Mortimer's version of events.

Mr Pistorius was in the VIP section of the club when he was approached by a man who had since been identified as Mr Mortimer, she said.

"The individual, according to my client, started to aggressively interrogate him on matters relating to the trial," said Ms Burgess.

She added that Mr Pistorius "regrets the decision to go to a public space and thereby inviting unwelcome attention".

On Sunday, hours after the incident, the Olympic sprinter tweeted for the first time since the death of Ms Steenkamp.

He tweeted a Bible verse, a collage of pictures of his humanitarian work, and an extract from Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning".

The Olympic sprinter's murder trial was adjourned last week for closing arguments on 7 August.


BBC News - Oscar Pistorius in row at Johannesburg club

yaarpies having a pissing contest - bwahahahahaha

cause it's d0g's will that that they should bullsh1t each other and not the rest of us

the d0g botherers should stop being scared of the black man

Originally Posted by Mr Lick

She added that Mr Pistorius "regrets the decision to go to a public space and thereby inviting unwelcome attention".

No shit. Out nightclubbing during his trial for murder, and getting drunk and into fights. The guy is a real public relations genius...

Found Not Guilty of both premeditated and second-degree murder.

Judge deciding on culpable homicide.

More drama. Surprise adjournment until tomorrow shortly after reconvening just as the judge appeared to be leading up to a culpable homicide verdict.

Colour coordinated bucket beside him.

And to think, they once told Oscar Pistorius he'd never walk.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Judge deciding on culpable homicide.

What might he get if convicted of this?...

Some people involved in the Court room proceedings, will have made a good life from this trail and after benefits.
Book assignments, etc
The Judge will be flown to England to appear on BBC's Womens hour, and Desert Island discs.

Originally Posted by BaitongBoy

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Judge deciding on culpable homicide.

What might he get if convicted of this?...

Suspended to 15 years - but no fixed sentence structure ; it's totally up to the whim of the judge .

lazy bitch - taking 2 days read her decision out .
then if a sentence is going to be given, no doubt it will be on some date in the future ?
with him out on parole again...