Tears as Steenkamp injuries revealed – Oscar Trial
Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius cried in the dock on Monday as pathologist Gert Saayman described the head wounds of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
FILE PICTURE: Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is seen at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on the 6th day of his ongoing murder trial, Monday, 10 March 2014. The double amputee is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend of a few months Reeva Steenkamp at his home in the early hours of Valentines Day last year. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu/Independent Newspapers Ltd/Pool
Pistorius sat in the dock with his head bowed and his hands laced behind his neck.
He was shaking as Saayman described how a bullet entered Steenkamp’s head in the right upper part, and ran under the skull before it exited from a second wound in the head.
Steenkamp family friend Desiree Myers also sat with her head down as Saayman spoke. Two women next to her held her hand and comforted her.
Pistorius sat gagging as Saayman said a bulk of the projectile went into the brain. Proceedings were briefly halted to allow him to regain his composure.
Saayman said Steenkamp’s body was naked when it was brought in for a post mortem. Her clothes were brought along with the body.
Steenkamp’s sport shorts had blood stains on them, and a small hole around 5mm in diameter.
What initially seemed like a defect on the trousers turned out to be a blood spatter, said Saayman.
A sleeveless black vest accompanied the pants.
Saayman said small tissue and bone fragments could be seen on the t-shirt.
Pistorius’s sister, Aimee, also silently cried as she watched her brother break down.
Pistorius is on trial for the murder of Steenkamp.
He shot her dead through a locked bathroom door of his Pretoria home. He said he had mistaken her for an intruder.
The State, however, argues that it was premeditated murder.
– Sapa
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
