Head down and retching into a bucket beneath him, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee Olympian who was charged with murdering his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day last year, wept as he listened to gruesome autopsy testimony in his murder trial.
In the South African courtroom on Monday, pathologist Gert Saayman described Reeva Steenkamp’s injuries in detail, testifying that one bullet entered her head, ran under her skull and into her brain before exiting.
During his testimony, Pistorius became ill, vomiting and holding his head in his hands. Defense lawyer Barry Roux rejected Judge Thokozile Masipa’s repeated offer to delay the testimony if Pistorius was too sick. Instead, Roux produced cellphone records and told security guard shift leader Pieter Baba that, contrary to his testimony, Pistorius called security before building security called him.
“Pistorius called you first at 3.21am, and he will tell the court that he could not speak and very shortly after that at 3.22am you called him back to find out if he is all right,” Roux said.
Baba, however, testified that he called Pistorius, who told him “everything was fine.” The sequence is important for the defense because it may prove that Pistorius was trying to seek help as quickly as possible, therefore, the murder was not premeditated.
If you recall, Pistorius has said he was awakened in the night by a noise in the bathroom he thought was an intruder. He fired four shots through the bathroom door, killing Steenkamp.
The trial is being televised in South Africa. We’ll keep you updated on the latest in the Pistorius trial.
SOURCE: USA TODAY | VIDEO SOURCE: News, Inc.
