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Post by Admin on May 5, 2014 14:02:36 GMT
Following weeks of drama fit for the big screen — which was broadcast on small screens in South Africa and around the world — chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel called for a break, citing schedule conflicts. Judge Thokozile Masipa approved because the case was dragging on longer than she had expected. Pistorius claims he shot and killed his law student and model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, because he thought she was an intruder and felt vulnerable without his prosthetic legs. The state contests he intentionally murdered the woman after a bitter argument. The prosecution opened with testimony from the Pistorius' neighbors, who said they heard a man and a woman yelling, followed by gunshots and then, silence. A security guard then recounted the next portion of the saga, in which Pistorius told him everything was "fine," only minutes after shooting Steenkamp. Text messages from Steenkamp were read aloud to further shed light on Pistorius’ short temper. "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you will act towards me," said one. The longer string of text message conversations between the couple, the majority of which, Roux pointed out, were loving, caused Pistorius to break down crying, something that he was prone to do, especially when details of the crime scene were shared. Pistorius’ team will continue to try to prove that the crime scene was altered by police, and that neighbors who heard Steenkamp's screams before gunshots actually heard Pistorius’ screams before he whacked the door down with a cricket bat. Roger Dixon, a forensic expert for the defense, already testified that the bedroom was too dark to see that Steenkamp got out of bed and said he conducted an audio test that indicated sounds of a cricket bat hitting wood could be mistaken for gunshots.
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Post by Admin on May 6, 2014 22:12:23 GMT
The Olympian allegedly approached Kim Myers, a friend of slain model Reeva Steenkamp’s best friend, during a break in trial proceedings and whispered in her ear: ‘How can you sleep at night?’ Oscar Pistorius may have shot himself in the prosthetic foot with a “sinister remark” at his murder trial. “How do you sleep at night?” the South African sprinter reportedly told Kim Myers, a pal of his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during a recess. Pistorius lawyer Brian Webb immediately denied the report by Afrikaans newspaper Beeld and called it “grossly untrue.” And Pistorius, who has barely said a peep outside the courtroom, also insisted the report was untrue. ut a lawyer for Myers, whose sister Gina was Steenkamp’s best friend, has filed an intimidation complaint against the athlete with South African court officials. “My client, Kim Myers, was approached by Oscar Pistorius in court today and in a very sinister tone was asked, ‘How can you sleep at night?’” Ian Levitt said. Myers “views this unwelcome approach as extremely disturbing,” he said. The National Prosecuting Authority confirmed it got the complaint but is unlikely to take any action because Myers has not been called to testify at Pistorius’ trial. Oscar Pistorius' relatives listen to a witness testifying during the murder trial Tuesday. In other developments, ABC News reported that Pistorius’ housekeeper, Frank Chiziweni, was in the house when Steenkamp was shot. Until now, neither the prosecution nor the defense had mentioned Chiziweni. And he has not been called to testify. Earlier, Pistorius neighbor Mike Nhlengethwa testified that the runner had introduced Steenkamp to him as “as his fiancé.” Nhlengethwa said on the night Steenkamp was killed he and his wife heard a “bang” and then screams. He said he went outside and saw security by Pistorius’ home and went over to investigate.
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Post by Admin on May 14, 2014 21:13:39 GMT
Oscar Pistorius needs to undergo mental health examinations, the judge in his murder trial ruled Wednesday, putting a halt to the proceedings after nearly two months of testimony. The very unusual move throws the trial into confusion. Will Pistorius have to live in an institution?Judge Masipa hopes he will not. She said she did not intend to "punish the accused twice" by putting him in a situation where he had to be locked up, and asked if he could be evaluated as an outpatient. Pistorius should learn the answer on Tuesday. The case has attracted saturation media coverage in South Africa and throughout the world Neither side believes he's mentally ill, so what's this all about?The defense team put a psychiatrist, Dr. Merryll Vorster, on the stand to testify that Pistorius suffers from "generalized anxiety disorder." The disorder means he has "excessive" concerns about security, and that he felt threatened even when, objectively, he was not, she testified. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel seized on the psychiatrist's testimony, arguing that if the defendant's mental health is even potentially an issue in the trial, he needed to be referred for expert evaluation. The defense is not arguing that mental illness played a role in Pistorius shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, so they opposed the motion. But after considering the question overnight, Masipa granted the prosecution request. How will finding on mental state affect the trial?The expert panel evaluating Pistorius has three options. They could find that Pistorius was mentally incapacitated when he shot Steenkamp, which would end the trial immediately in a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness. That would lead to the athlete being committed to a mental institution until he is ruled not to be a danger. Oscar Pistorius could now be evaluated for at least 30 days at a psychiatric faculty The doctors could also find that he had "diminished responsibility" at the time he killed Steenkamp. In that case, the trial would resume, and the experts' finding would be taken into consideration during sentencing if he is found guilty. The third possibility is that the experts could disagree with the defense psychiatrist and say that Pistorius' mental health is not an issue at all. If that happens, Vorster's testimony could be disregarded. The experts might not all agree with each other, and lawyers on either side could disagree with the experts' report, leading to any number of possible outcomes. If there is any dispute, the final decision about what to do with the experts' report lies with the judge.
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Post by Admin on Jul 7, 2014 15:52:25 GMT
A leaked video of Oscar Pistorius illustrating how he moved down the passage of his house on the night he killed Reeva Steenkamp, appears to be at odds with testimony given. The demonstration reportedly took place in the Paralympian’s uncle’s home, according to Australian TV station Channel Seven. The video also appears to be at odds with defence testimony that Pistorius is nearly helpless while on his stumps. Channel Seven is in possession of the confidential footage. A promotional video was posted on the station’s website but access to South African audiences was blocked. Pistorius has insisted he moved slowly down the seven metre-long passage from his bedroom to the bathroom where he shot Steenkamp four times through a locked door. During cross-examination, State prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked Pistorius why he did not leave the bedroom when he first heard a noise in the bathroom. Pistorius replied: “I am not sure. I was on my stumps. I have very limited mobility.” On Thursday last week, sports physician Professor Wayne Derman – called as an expert by Pistorius – testified he had attended a consultation at Pistorius’s lawyers’ chambers. He had asked the athlete to demonstrate to him how he had moved that night. The matter of the leaked video showing Oscar Pistorius walking on his stumps will likely be raised in court today. However, State prosecutor Gerrie Nel’s cross-examination of Professor Wayne Derman will most likely continue. Nel is now armed with expert advice from state psychiatrist Dr Carla Kotze of Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital. “If Nel [does] call Kotze to the stand … defence counsel Barry Roux will [also want to cross-examine her," said the NPA's Mncube. Once these issues have been resolved, the trial will adjourn once again to allow Nel and defence counsel Barry Roux time to write their closing arguments. The length of time they can use to present their arguments is unrestricted. "Once both sides have presented to Judge Thokozile Masipa, she will adjourn the trial to make her finding and verdict," said Mncube. This could take a few months. The verdict itself could take days to be read into the record.
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2014 13:47:01 GMT
The defense in the Oscar Pistorius murder case rested Tuesday, bringing to an end the latest phase of a trial which has lasted longer than the athlete's relationship with Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed. Closing arguments will begin August 7, the judge ordered. Pistorius, 27, admits firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp, but he says he mistakenly thought he was defending himself from an intruder. Prosecutors say the two had an argument and he deliberately murdered the model and law school graduate, who was 29. Following closing arguments, the judge will have to decide whether Pistorius genuinely made a mistake or deliberately murdered his girlfriend. If Judge Thokozile Masipa does not believe the athlete thought there was an intruder, she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to a prison term ranging from 15 years to life. South Africa does not have the death penalty. If Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know that Steenkamp was the person he was shooting at, she could find him guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge than murder, or acquit him, according to Phelps, the CNN legal analyst. While the defense has to only present a version that can be "reasonably true," Pistorius could still face a murder charge even if his version of events gets accepted. In South African law, self-defense is only accepted when the person's life is in physical danger. By presenting evidence that Pistorius aimed to kill the person behind the bathroom door, the so-called Blade Runner could well be found guilty even if his version is accepted. But his own admissions on the stand, the contradictions in his story both he and some of his key expert witnesses - three of whom contradicted at least a part of his version of events - and the strange legal strategy of bringing in a defense late that centered on Pistorius suffering from general anxiety disorder, may well backfire on him. It already lengthened the case, as Pistorius was ordered to undergo a 30-day psychiatric evaluation - one that found him depressed and possibly suicidal, but one that also said he suffered from no mental disorder at the time of the shooting.
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