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Oscar Pistorius trial: Photographs of Paralympian drenched in blood shown in court Oscar Pistorius trial: Photographs of Paralympian splattered in blood shown in court
(about 1 hour later)
Photographs of a bare-chested Oscar Pistorius covered in blood from the waist down were shown in court as his murder trial entered its tenth day. Bare-chested, and with bloodover his arms, back and prosthetic legs, Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial wasshown haunting photographs of the Olympian taken by police officers who arrivedat his home shortly after he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The photographs were taken shortly after the Paralympian shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year. On the tenth day of the trial in Pretoria, the first police officer to arrive found the runner in a "very emotional state", and trails of blood throughout the property.
In one of the photographs, a shirtless Pistorius is seen standing facing the camera wearing shorts and his prosthetic legs are splattered with blood. The images were taken by police photographers recording the scene in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting of 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp.
The second photograph showed Pistorius from the waist up, with a tattoo visible on his back, but his naked chest appears to be clean of blood. The photographs were taken in his garage before he was arrested and taken to the police station. Bloodstains can be seen up to his knees and on his shorts, while his chest appears to be clean.
A close-up of the toilet cubicle where Ms Steenkamp was shot showed blood on the rim and in the bowl, where the water was dark with blood. Ex-police station commander Colonel Schoombie van Rensburg, in charge of the crime scene, led the court through the images. He said he did not arrest Pistorius immediately, but warned him to remain at the house.
Former police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg arrived at the scene around 30 to 40 minutes after prosecutors argue Pistorius intentionally shot and killed Ms Steenkamp. He said: "I told him I observed him as a suspect at that stage. I warned him of his rights. I said to him I wasn't arresting him at that stage... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene."
He told the court he found Pistorius in the kitchen, pacing up and down, and the athlete was "very emotional". He didn't arrest him immediately after discovering Ms Steenkamp had been shot dead, but warned him to stay inside the house. The court also heard how the first officers to arrive contaminated crucial evidence, and stole one of the athlete's expensive watches.
"I told him I observed him as a suspect at that stage," he told the court. "I warned him of his rights. I said to him I wasn't arresting him at that stage ... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene." Colonel Schoombie van Rensburg, the first police officer to arrive, told the North Gauteng High Court that he admitted a ballistics expert to the bathroom where Ms Steenkamp had been killed, and found him handling Mr Pistorius's firearm "without gloves."
Earlier, Col Van Rensburg told the North Gauteng High Court he admitted a ballistics expert to the bathroom where Ms Steenkamp had been shot, and found him handling Mr Pistorius’s firearm "without gloves". Col van Rensburg said: "I was talking on my cellphone when I heard the firearm had been cocked. I stopped talking and said, 'What are you doing?' He said sorry and put the magazine back in the firearm. I was very angry."
"I was very angry," he said. "I asked him,'‘what are you doing?’ I couldn’t believe it." Pistorius from the waist up, with a tattoo visible on his back, and blood on his left arm He found a case of expensive watches from one of Pistorius's sponsors in the athlete's bedroom which was marked with blood, and therefore an important piece of evidence. Later when one of the watches went missing, he conducted pat downs and searches of all the officers present. "We even searched the cars," he said, but the watch was never recovered.
He found a case of expensive watches from one of Pistorius’s sponsors in the athlete’s bedroom which was marked with blood, and therefore an important piece of evidence. He also said he kept the the toilet door through which the fatal bullets were fired, in his office for more than two weeks after the incident occurred, rather than in an evidence room, having removed it from the scene in a body bag.
Pistorius from the waist up, with a tattoo visible on his back, and blood on his left arm Later when one of the watches went missing, he conducted pat downs and searches of all the officers present. “We even searched the cars,” he said, but the watch was never recovered. "The newspapers were offering 50,000 to 60,000 rand [around £3,000] for a picture of the door," he said. "We had to remove it." The only bags they had that were large enough for the extra large body bags.
He also said he kept the toilet door through which the fatal bullets were fired in his office for more than two weeks, rather than in an evidence room, having removed it from the crime scene in a body bag. He said he kept it in his office because "only I had a key. It was completely secure."
“The newspapers were offering 50,000 to 60,000 rand [around £3,000] for a picture of the door,” he said. "We had to remove it." Pistorius maintains he mistakenly killed his girlfriend believing she was an intruder, hiding behind his toilet door.
The door has been viewed as crucial evidence in the case, and was removed from the athlete's home in the hours after he shot Ms Steenkamp. The marks on the door could determine the angle and height from which Pistorius fired. If convicted, he faces a life sentence with a mandatory 25-year prison term.
Mr Roux also questioned the methods used by former investigating officer Hilton Botha, who was taken off the case last year and resigned from the police force. The case continues.
Mr Botha admitted last year that he didn't wear proper forensic clothing and shoe covers when he examined parts of the crime scene. Pistorius's legal team argue the scene was contaminated by police.
"You did not disturb anything in the bathroom? You did not see Mr. Hilton Botha disturb anything in the bathroom?" Roux asked Col Van Rensburg.
Yesterday, Pistorius threw up again after after a picture of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp's blood-covered body was accidentally shown, prompting loud winces in court.
A series of photographs showing cartridge cases on the floor, the window open, a panel of the door smashed through, and large, deep puddles of blood, were presented in public for the first time.A series of photographs showing cartridge cases on the floor, the window open, a panel of the door smashed through, and large, deep puddles of blood, were presented in public for the first time.
Col Van Rensburg found the gun lying on top of a grey towel. He said it was cocked, with the hammer pulled back and ready to fire. He saw Ms Steenkamp's body covered in towels and plastic bags used by Pistorius to stop the bleeding.Col Van Rensburg found the gun lying on top of a grey towel. He said it was cocked, with the hammer pulled back and ready to fire. He saw Ms Steenkamp's body covered in towels and plastic bags used by Pistorius to stop the bleeding.
The 29-year old model and law graduate was shot three times, being hit in the head, arm and hip from three bullets from a 9mm pistol through the locked bathroom door of Pistorius' upscale home in the gated Silver Woods estate.The 29-year old model and law graduate was shot three times, being hit in the head, arm and hip from three bullets from a 9mm pistol through the locked bathroom door of Pistorius' upscale home in the gated Silver Woods estate.
Last week, Pistorius pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Steenkamp, claiming he shot her in a case of mistaken identity thinking she was an intruder.Last week, Pistorius pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Steenkamp, claiming he shot her in a case of mistaken identity thinking she was an intruder.
Prosecutors argue he intentionally shot and killed his girlfriend following a domestic dispute. If convicted of murder he will almost certainly receive a life sentence, with a minimum term of 25 years.Prosecutors argue he intentionally shot and killed his girlfriend following a domestic dispute. If convicted of murder he will almost certainly receive a life sentence, with a minimum term of 25 years.
The case continues.The case continues.