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| Pistorius Trial to Adjourn This Week Until May 5, Days Before Election | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — The judge in the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, said on Wednesday that proceedings would be postponed after hearings ended on Thursday until May 5, two days before South Africa’s national election. | PRETORIA, South Africa — The judge in the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, said on Wednesday that proceedings would be postponed after hearings ended on Thursday until May 5, two days before South Africa’s national election. |
| The prosecution had sought the postponement on Tuesday to avoid scheduling conflicts with other cases. The Pistorius trial has already run far beyond the three weeks scheduled when it opened in early March, and has generated 2,000 pages of detailed testimony, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa said. | The prosecution had sought the postponement on Tuesday to avoid scheduling conflicts with other cases. The Pistorius trial has already run far beyond the three weeks scheduled when it opened in early March, and has generated 2,000 pages of detailed testimony, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa said. |
| While May 5 may not be a “suitable” date because it comes so close to the elections, Judge Masipa said, “we are pressed for time.” | While May 5 may not be a “suitable” date because it comes so close to the elections, Judge Masipa said, “we are pressed for time.” |
| “An accused is entitled to speedy justice,” the judge added. | “An accused is entitled to speedy justice,” the judge added. |
| The prosecution said Tuesday that it wanted to attend to other cases in which defendants were in detention. Mr. Pistorius, 27, is free on bail. | The prosecution said Tuesday that it wanted to attend to other cases in which defendants were in detention. Mr. Pistorius, 27, is free on bail. |
| The athlete has denied that he deliberately killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, when he opened fire on her through the locked door of a bathroom. He has said he believed that at least one intruder was behind the door, but the prosecution contends that the couple had an argument and that he shot her in a fit of anger. | The athlete has denied that he deliberately killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, when he opened fire on her through the locked door of a bathroom. He has said he believed that at least one intruder was behind the door, but the prosecution contends that the couple had an argument and that he shot her in a fit of anger. |
| The case resumed Wednesday, a day after Mr. Pistorius ended a harrowing seven days on the witness stand, facing repeated accusations from the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, that he had concocted testimony to produce a version of events so improbable as to be untrue. | The case resumed Wednesday, a day after Mr. Pistorius ended a harrowing seven days on the witness stand, facing repeated accusations from the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, that he had concocted testimony to produce a version of events so improbable as to be untrue. |
| The defense then called a forensics expert and former police officer, Roger Dixon, who has challenged the prosecution’s account of how the four hollow-point bullets were fired from Mr. Pistorius’s gun. The defense wants to show that the bullets were fired in such quick succession that Ms. Steenkamp would not have had time to scream. | The defense then called a forensics expert and former police officer, Roger Dixon, who has challenged the prosecution’s account of how the four hollow-point bullets were fired from Mr. Pistorius’s gun. The defense wants to show that the bullets were fired in such quick succession that Ms. Steenkamp would not have had time to scream. |
| The prosecution has argued that neighbors heard a woman screaming on the night of the killing. | The prosecution has argued that neighbors heard a woman screaming on the night of the killing. |
| As Mr. Dixon went into a detailed reconstruction of how he said the bullets were fired and ricocheted, Mr. Pistorius bowed forward in the dock and appeared to be retching, as he has done on several previous occasions during testimony relating to Ms. Steenkamp’s injuries. | As Mr. Dixon went into a detailed reconstruction of how he said the bullets were fired and ricocheted, Mr. Pistorius bowed forward in the dock and appeared to be retching, as he has done on several previous occasions during testimony relating to Ms. Steenkamp’s injuries. |
| Mr. Dixon said wood splinters found in one of Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds suggested that she was standing close to the door when the first shot was fired. | Mr. Dixon said wood splinters found in one of Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds suggested that she was standing close to the door when the first shot was fired. |
| Under cross-examination by Mr. Nel, who challenged Mr. Dixon’s credentials, the expert said he had no training in ballistics or blood spatter analysis and was a geologist by training. | Under cross-examination by Mr. Nel, who challenged Mr. Dixon’s credentials, the expert said he had no training in ballistics or blood spatter analysis and was a geologist by training. |
| Mr. Dixon said he had conducted tests to compare the sound of a bathroom door being struck with a cricket bat and the sound of a gunshot. With heavy sarcasm, Mr. Nel questioned the skills Mr. Dixon had brought to the tests. “It seems the skill you used was wielding a cricket bat,” Mr. Nel said, but Mr. Dixon disputed the assertion. | Mr. Dixon said he had conducted tests to compare the sound of a bathroom door being struck with a cricket bat and the sound of a gunshot. With heavy sarcasm, Mr. Nel questioned the skills Mr. Dixon had brought to the tests. “It seems the skill you used was wielding a cricket bat,” Mr. Nel said, but Mr. Dixon disputed the assertion. |