Pistorius sick in dock over graphic details of gun injuries
Reeva Steenkamp was shot with bullets designed to expand on impact and cause maximum damage, Prof Gert Saayman testified after he identified the type of bullet from fragments in Steenkamp’s skull.
Saayman’s testimony was not broadcast or reported live on Twitter by journalists because of its explicit content under an order from Judge Thokozile Masipa. However, journalists were allowed to report the testimony without directly quoting the witness’s words.
The double-amputee runner, hunched over on a bench, vomited when he heard the description of Steenkamp’s wounds, prompting Masipa to briefly halt the testimony to ask chief defence lawyer Barry Roux to attend to his client. The judge also asked whether Pistorius was able to understand the proceedings. Roux said Pistorius’ reaction was not going to change. A bucket was placed at his feet.
After court adjourned for the day, Pistorius sat for a few minutes with his hands over his ears and his body heaving and bent forward as his brother held a hand on his back.
Saayman stood for much of his testimony, referring to photographs that were not shown to the gallery as he described bullet wounds on Steenkamp’s body, one to the right side of the head, one to the right arm and one to the right hip area. He also described exit wounds caused by the bullets and other abrasions and discolouration of the skin, consistent with the impact of a bullet fired through a wooden object such as a door.
Saayman said that each of the three main gunshot wounds Steenkamp suffered could have been fatal in isolation. Steenkamp’s right arm was also broken and she had multiple skull fractures, both because of the effect of bullets, Saayman said.
There was another wound on one of Steenkamp’s hands, Saayman said. Steenkamp, a model and personality on a television reality show, was wearing a pair of sports shorts with a Nike logo, a former sponsor of Pistorius, and a black undershirt when she was shot, he said.
Pistorius, the first amputee to run in the Olympics, is charged with premeditated murder for 29-year-old Steenkamp’s death before dawn on February 14, 2013. Pistorius, 27, says the killing was accidental because he thought his girlfriend was a dangerous intruder when he shot her through the door of a toilet cubicle in his home.
Earlier, prosecutor Gerrie Nel, supported by chief defence lawyer Barry Roux, said Saayman’s testimony would have an “explicitly graphic nature” and should not be shown around the world. Masipa then announced a ban on live audio and video broadcasting, and extended the order to live reporting on social media.
“Twitter is not allowed. Blogging is not allowed,” Masipa said.
Proceedings can be partly televised and the audio can be broadcast in its entirety under a judge’s pre-trial order that sought to balance the right to a fair trial with the intense public interest in the Pistorius case and the principle of open justice. Under the order, witnesses can choose not to be shown on television.
Earlier, a security guard who said he spoke with Pistorius soon after the shooting of Steenkamp was challenged by the defence about his recollection of the sequence of the events that night. The sequence is important for the defence because, if it can prove Pistorius called security first, it could support the contention that he was seeking help as quickly as possible.
The guard, Pieter Baba, had testified he called Pistorius and was told “everything is fine” on the telephone. Baba said Pistorius then called him back moments later, didn’t speak, was crying and the second call then ended.
Baba’s statement that he called Pistorius first could back the prosecution’s case that the killing was premeditated, and that Pistorius was trying, at least initially, to conceal what he had done.
However, Roux said call records showed Pistorius called security first, but couldn’t speak because he was “indeed crying”.
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