The prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius ends his five-day cross-examination of the South African double amputee track athlete. Mana Rabiee reports.
Alleged murder ... South Africa's Olympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius allegedly shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Source: AFP
THE prosecution derided a forensic expert hired by Oscar Pistorius, accusing him of being unqualified to testify and rubbishing his account of the circumstances in which Reeva Steenkamp died.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel sought to prove that forensic geologist Roger Dixon was out of his depth in testifying about the lighting, sound and physical evidence inside Pistorius's home.
Dixon, a university professor, told the court about the sound made by Pistorius's cricket bat hitting his toilet door, visibility in the star sprinter's bedroom and blood splatter.
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Denies murder ... Oscar Pistorius listens to evidence in the Pretoria High Court on April 15, 2014. Source: Getty Images
Pistorius's defence team has argued that neighbours who testified to hearing "bloodcurdling screams" followed by gunshots were mistaken.
If proven correct, the neighbours' account could punch a hole through Pistorius's claim he did not know Steenkamp was in the toilet.
Pistorius's defence team has tried to show that the noises were in fact Pistorius bashing a cricket bat against his toilet door after realising he mistakenly killed the model.
"Are you a sound expert, sir?" asked Nel. "Have you received training in decibels and sound?" Not specifically, said Dixon.
He also testified that Pistorius's bedroom was so dark the athlete could not have seen whether Steenkamp was in bed.
When Nel asked the geologist about how he analysed the visibility in Pistorius's bedroom room at night, Dixon said: "My lady, the instruments I used there were my eyes." "Are you a blood splatter expert?" said Nel. "I have received no training in blood splatter analysis," said Dixon, a former employee of the South African Police Service.
Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux is expected to call up to 17 witnesses to bolster the athlete's story that he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, believing she was an intruder breaking into his up-market home in a gated Pretoria community.
The Paralympic gold medallist has pleaded not guilty to intentionally killing the 29-year-old model and law graduate.
He has also pleaded not guilty to three other charges connected with the reckless discharge of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.
He stepped down from the witness stand on Tuesday, after a gruelling cross-examination at the hands of Nel.
Legal experts said Pistorius, who was evasive and argumentative on the stand, did himself more harm than good.
"I think it's a desperate man," said William Booth, a criminal lawyer based in Cape Town. "The more questions you ask somebody like Oscar, it could actually get worse."
Model Reeva Steenkamp in bikini on cover of magazine FHM. Source: Supplied
South African model Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on February 14, 2013. Source: News Limited
Earlier, the judge in the murder trial ruled that proceedings will adjourn for more than two weeks after tomorrow's proceedings and resume again on May 5.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said that she was responding to a request for a break from the chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and which was supported by the defence.
Pistorius' trial started on March 3 and Masipa said the case had lasted longer than expected. She said she granted the break because a member for the prosecution team has to attend to another case.
Masipa also noted that the court record for the Pistorius trial is now almost 2000 pages long. The trial was initially scheduled to last just three weeks.
"At the time, it was not envisioned that this trial would run this long," Masipa said.
Masipa also noted that much of the evidence is "technical" and given by expert witnesses.
Roux indicated the defence may finish calling its witnesses by mid-May.
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