Oscar Pistorius breaks down again as bloody crime scene photos are shown in trial

By

Suzannah Hills

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Emotional: Oscar Pistorius sheds a tear during the cross examination of witnesses in his murder trial

Oscar Pistorius today broke down into tears as a ballistics experts described how bullets fired by the athlete killed his girlfriend.

Captain Chris Mangena told Pretoria High Court how Pistorius was standing at least seven feet from

the closed toilet door when he shot through it at a ‘slightly downwards angle’, killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Captain Mangena said the bullets entered

the toilet door below the shoulder level of Pistorius, if he were

standing without prosthetic limbs.

Pistorius has always maintained he was on his stumps when he fired.

Prosecutors do not dispute the

assertion, after initially alleging he was on his prosthetic limbs when

he fired a total of four shots, three of which hit 29-year-old Ms Steenkamp.

Captain Mangena said that only one of the four shots ricocheted inside the lavatory, hitting the wall twice and breaking the tiles.

But he said the other three bullets ‘disappeared somewhere between the door and the wall,’ adding that he believed that had hit the ‘target’ straight away.

It is believed Ms Steenkamp was by the toilet in the bathroom when she was killed, but it has not yet been established during the trial whether she was sitting down on it.

Captain Mangena said he used thin rods and the beam from a laser mounted on a

tripod to try to determine the trajectory of the bullets through the

door.

He also described

entry and exit wounds on Ms Steenkamp’s right arm and her head, and

bruises on her chest where a ‘projectile’ struck without penetrating.

It comes as a gun expert today said the athlete, who has passed a test on gun safety, ‘broke every rule in the book’ when he shot his girlfriend.

Pistorius, 27, is charged with

premeditated murder for killing Reeva Steenkamp, 29.

SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH VIDEO

Oscar Pistorius is seen with tears running down his face on the twelfth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Tuesday

Pistorius puts his thumbs in his ears as evidence about Reeva Steenkamp’s head wounds is read to the court

Pistorius covers his eyes in the dock as bloody scenes following the shooting of his girlfriend are shown at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa

 

Aftermath of the killing: This picture of Oscar Pistorius, bare-chested and covered in blood from the waist down, was taken by police shortly after the Paralympian shot Reeva Steenkamp at his home

Shocking: Blood can be seen down the athlete’s left arm and on his shorts apparently from when he carried his dead girlfriend down the stairs after shooting her in the bathroom

Horrific: Blood is splattered all over the toilet where Miss Steenkamp was shot by Pistorius

He denies murder and says

he shot his girlfriend accidentally, thinking she was an intruder in a

toilet cubicle in the bathroom of his home.

Pistorius claims he then struck the toilet door

with a cricket bat to get to Steenkamp after realizing what he had done.

But Andre Pritorius, the man who wrote

the gun safety exam that Pistorius and all South Africans take before getting

licensed to own a gun, told ABC News

that shooting Steenkamp through a bathroom door violated a key rule on

the test which states a shooter must know what or who the target is.

He

said: ‘That came as a big surprise to the general public because … he

got the answers correct when he took the test not too long ago, but

unfortunately the night of the shooting he’s broken every rule.’

Meanwhile Pretoria High Court was

told earlier on Tuesday how police crime scene pictures appear to suggest key

evidence was moved by officers which would be a breach of investigation

procedures.

Evidence: The bullet holes and shattered wood where Pistorius struck the door are clearly seen here

Clues: Based on the angle and height of the four bullet holes seen here, Pistorius fired his gun on his stumps, the court heard

Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves court after listening to the cross examination of witnesses in his murder trial

Pistorius is accompanied by relatives as he leaves the high court in Pretoria after an emotional day of hearing evidence

In the spotlight: Pistorius is photographed by members of the public as he leaves the court

Warrant Officer Bennie van Staden took hundreds of photos of the scene at Pistorius’s Pretoria home in the hours after the double-amputee athlete killed Miss Steenkamp before dawn on February 14 last year

The

pictures included blood marks found in the property, bullet casings, a

gun and a cricket bat found inside Pistorius’s bathroom.

Police photographer van Staden

admitted some of the photos suggest evidence had been moved by officers during

the evidence gathering process.

The

revelation came as chief defense lawyer Barry Roux challenged previous

police witnesses, seeking to uncover contradictions and reported mishaps

to support his argument that officers bungled the investigation.

Roux

minutely examined many photos taken by van Staden and another police

officer and pointed out that objects at the crime scene had been moved

and were in different positions in photos.  

Roux

also used time of day records on the images to show that the two

policemen taking photographs were in the same room at points, even

though van Staden testified he was working alone.

Roux

compared photos of the bloody bathroom scene taken by van Staden with

photos in the bathroom taken by another policeman, identified as a Col.

Motha. Both were in the bathroom at that time, according to the times

shown on the images.

On trial: Oscar Pistorius checks his mobile phone as he sits in the dock waiting for the proceedings of his murder trial to begin at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday

Hearing: The court heard that police photographs show evidence was moved by officers at the Paralympic athlete’s home in the hours following Reeva Steenkamp’s death. Pistorius is pictured in the dock on Tuesday

Graphic: A police picture taken at the scene of the cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the toilet door after he accidentally shot Miss Steenkamp. The court heard on Tuesday that police photographs suggest the bat was moved by officers in violation of investigation procedures

Testimony: Police photographer Bennie van Staden admitted in court on Tuesday that images from the scene at Pistorius’s home suggest there was ‘movement of the bat’

Pistorius’

lawyer also asked van Staden to explain differences in photographs of

the 9 mm pistol that Pistorius used to shoot Steenkamp through a closed

toilet door, and of a cricket bat that the Paralympian used to hit the

door.

‘It seems there was movement of the bat’ in the interval between two photographs taken by van Staden, Roux said.

‘It seems like that,’ van Staden conceded.

The

police photographer also acknowledged that two photographs of the gun

indicated that a mat underneath it could have been shifted.

Roux said one photo also differed from the other because it showed a wooden splinter on the gun handle.

Two

other photos of objects on the bedroom floor next to Pistorius’ bed

showed tissues, what was identified as a CD or disc and a remote control

were in different positions.

Van Staden said he did not know who moved them, but he remembered the disc was previously under the bed.

‘How does it happen that there’s such a great disturbance of that scene?’ Roux asked.

Chief defence lawyer Barry Roux (pictured left) questions police photographer Bennie van Staden (pictured in the witness stand) during the murder trial of South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius

Splatter: Pistorius says he used the bat to break down the door to get to his model girlfriend after shooting her, he claims, by mistake thinking she was a burglar

Crime scene: This image shows the bathroom where Pistorius fired the fatal shots and the toilet in the background where Miss Steenkamp was hit by three bullets

Roux

was trying to build a picture of a cluttered and confused crime scene

with many officers working on it and possibly contaminating the

evidence.

Van Staden has

said he also took nine photographs of Pistorius soon after the shooting,

with the athlete seen in some of the images standing in blood-stained

prosthetic legs and wearing blood-soaked shorts in the garage of his

home.

Van Staden’s

testimony on Tuesday was delayed by over an hour to give the policeman

time to collect photo records and discs at the defense’s request.

Van

Staden had said he would have to retrieve photo records from office

administration, but then said Tuesday he had forgotten that he was

actually in possession of the master copies of the shooting scene

photographs.

Pistorius appeared emotional throughout much of the hearing on Tuesday. 

Support: Oscar Pistorius is greeted by his aunt Lois Pistorius at court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday

Emotional: Pistorius is hugged by his aunt Lois Pistorius in Pretoria High Court on Tuesday as his murder trial continues

Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June (poictured far left) was also in court to hear the proceedings

Ms

Steenkamp’s mother June was sitting in the front row of the courtroom

and had support from a female companion as further details of her daughter’s death emerged.

Pistorius’s

uncle Arnold, aunt Lois and sister Aimee also attended to offer support

to the sportsman who was visibly emotional throughout Tuesday’s

hearing.

Before proceedings got underway, journalists in the courtroom

reported Arnold Pistorius introduced himself to Mrs Steenkamp and

offered his condolences.

The introduction was the latest of a series of attempts by Pistorius’s family to reach out to the Steenkamps.

The case was adjourned Tuesday afternoon and Captain Mangena will continue giving the rest of his evidence on Wednesday.

June Steenkamp was approached by Pistorius’s uncle who offered his condolences

Reeva Steenkamp pictured with Pistorius. The prosecution allege he intentionally killed her after an argument

Scene: Pistorius shot Miss Steenkamp through the bathroom door at his home (above) in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year

Comments (104)

Share what you think

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Maries the Name,

Lancashire, United Kingdom,

7 hours ago

Would you not ask at the door.. ‘Who is there’? BEFORE starting his firing practise.

Concerned,

Plymouth,

7 hours ago

What does it matter if the items were photographed and then moved, stick to the evidence!

Dale Maily,

London, United Kingdom,

7 hours ago

Fit all police with a camera, small digital cameras come with every phone, why not with every police officer?

Kev,

Leeds,

7 hours ago

This boy is going down and he knows it that’s why all the play acting and crying !!

Delta,

Stockton, United States,

7 hours ago

(sigh) Cry me an Oscar…

Herbie Lester,

Somewhere boring, New Caledonia,

7 hours ago

Snivelling little creep. He’s crying for himself, not Reeva.

Bonjour,

Rixensart, Belgium,

7 hours ago

Nobody at home in that head. So cool! so cold!

Louisa-Jane,

London,

7 hours ago

He’s probably using that old movie trick – onion juice under the eyes makes your eyes water. He’s got some on his fingers and every time he wipes his eyes they ‘tear up’ again.

Sophie,

Wiltshire,

7 hours ago

He appears to have the ability to cry on demand without looking upset or remotely sad.

F Mercury,

London, United Kingdom,

7 hours ago

He is guilty of shooting his girlfriend, as no one else was there. why is so much time being wasted trying to find fault with the police, he shot her through a locked door and he cannot change that. The only question that really needs answering is did he know she was in there?

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Oscar Pistorius breaks down again as bloody crime scene photos are shown in trial