Oscar fired at the noise – expert

“What he told me was that there was an intruder. That he certainly fired shots at the noise because he was scared, that was his version,” forensic expert Merryll Vorster said.

“He did not specifically say that he shot four times. He said he fired at the noise.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel objected and said that while the athlete was on the stand he told the court he shot at an intruder, not at the noise.

Vorster agreed there was an inconsistency, but said Pistorius’s version to her could be accepted.

“When you are in a fearful situation, I would not expect him to remember every detail,” she said.

She saw Pistorius on May 2 and May 7.

Pistorius is charged with murdering Steenkamp. He shot her through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home on February 14 last year. Pistorius has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.

Vorster said clinically Pistorius presented with anxiety disorder if his history, interviews with him, and symptoms were taken into account.

She said he functioned normally but did not have close relationships with friends, and his sexual relationships were short.

Earlier, Vorster told the court Pistorius had general anxiety disorder. She said her diagnosis would be relevant if the court found that he shot an intruder.

“It would not be relevant if the court finds that he deliberately shot Steenkamp. Then it doesn’t play a role,” she said.

Pistorius could determine right from wrong but his general anxiety disorder could affect how he acted.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act – one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.

After Nel concluded cross-examining Vorster, Barry Roux SC, for Pistorius, started re-examining her.

– Sapa