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| Oscar Pistorius trial: Reeva Steenkamp was 'standing up' when shot through locked toilet door | Oscar Pistorius trial: Reeva Steenkamp was 'standing up' when shot through locked toilet door |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Reeva Steenkamp was standing in a toilet cubicle when she was hit in the right hip by the first of four bullets fired by Oscar Pistorius through a locked door, his murder trial heard. | Reeva Steenkamp was standing in a toilet cubicle when she was hit in the right hip by the first of four bullets fired by Oscar Pistorius through a locked door, his murder trial heard. |
| Police ballistic expert Captain Christiaan Mangena told Pretoria's High Court the model and law graduate then fell back and was struck in the right arm and the head as she tried to cross arms to protect herself from the bullets. She was facing the door when boyfriend Pistorius opened fire. | |
| “That bullet penetrated and broke the hip bone of the deceased. If the hip bone is broken completely, it causes her to fall down, she would not have been able to stand. She fell down and moved backwards,” he told the court | “That bullet penetrated and broke the hip bone of the deceased. If the hip bone is broken completely, it causes her to fall down, she would not have been able to stand. She fell down and moved backwards,” he told the court |
| Mr Mangena said the bullet that struck her head broke into two fragments, causing extensive damage. He said the second shot missed Ms Steenkamp, hitting the cubicle instead and causing to break into pieces, bruising her back. Mr Mangena said he could not determine the order of the last two shots. | Mr Mangena said the bullet that struck her head broke into two fragments, causing extensive damage. He said the second shot missed Ms Steenkamp, hitting the cubicle instead and causing to break into pieces, bruising her back. Mr Mangena said he could not determine the order of the last two shots. |
| Captain Mangena said that Ms Steenkamp then fell on top of a magazine rack in the bathroom, in a seated position, from where one subsequent bullet missed her, before a fourth hit her in the head, and killed her. | Captain Mangena said that Ms Steenkamp then fell on top of a magazine rack in the bathroom, in a seated position, from where one subsequent bullet missed her, before a fourth hit her in the head, and killed her. |
| In highly aggressive exchanges, Pistorius’s defence counsel Barry Roux repeatedly suggested wounds on Ms Steenkamp’s back came from the magazine rack, not from secondary bullet fragments, and that their own expert analysis will show that. Captain Mangena, a respected ballistics expert with 20 years experience, stated more than ten times, that “I disagree.” | In highly aggressive exchanges, Pistorius’s defence counsel Barry Roux repeatedly suggested wounds on Ms Steenkamp’s back came from the magazine rack, not from secondary bullet fragments, and that their own expert analysis will show that. Captain Mangena, a respected ballistics expert with 20 years experience, stated more than ten times, that “I disagree.” |
| “But you didn’t test it, did you?” Mr Roux asked him. | “But you didn’t test it, did you?” Mr Roux asked him. |
| “No I didn’t, but if a test has been done, show me the results of those test, and I will see if I agree,” he replied. | “No I didn’t, but if a test has been done, show me the results of those test, and I will see if I agree,” he replied. |
| “But you didn’t test it yourself, did you?” | “But you didn’t test it yourself, did you?” |
| “No, I didn’t,” he said, but added. “I have done a lot of cases, and a lot of crime scenes, and that is my assessment.” | “No, I didn’t,” he said, but added. “I have done a lot of cases, and a lot of crime scenes, and that is my assessment.” |
| Captain Mangena’s account of events are in agreement with the pathologist who performed Ms Steenkamp’s post mortem - that she would almost certainly have screamed after sustaining the first non-fatal wounds, yet Pistorius carried on shooting. | Captain Mangena’s account of events are in agreement with the pathologist who performed Ms Steenkamp’s post mortem - that she would almost certainly have screamed after sustaining the first non-fatal wounds, yet Pistorius carried on shooting. |
| Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June sat through long hours of testimony detailing her daughter’s wounds, and the trail of her blood through her boyfriend’s apartment as he carried her body down the stairs. | Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June sat through long hours of testimony detailing her daughter’s wounds, and the trail of her blood through her boyfriend’s apartment as he carried her body down the stairs. |
| When the court resumed after the morning tea break she did not return. | When the court resumed after the morning tea break she did not return. |
| At the start of his murder trial, Pistorius pleaded not guilty of murdering Ms Steenkamp, claiming he shot her in a case of mistaken identity thinking she was an intruder. | At the start of his murder trial, Pistorius pleaded not guilty of 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. |