04-07-2014, 09:30 AM
DEFENSE BEGINS ITS CASE
![[Image: 460x.jpg]](http://binaryapi.ap.org/c16e3719b2af4819935f3c3aa9c6d4b5/460x.jpg)
^ Pistorius cried in court again today as the Defense's pathologist expert (Botha) testified
Retired pathologist and professor Jan Botha testified first for the defense (same name as the original lead detective in the case, but no relation).
The stomach contents - last meal time:
He testified that the science behind determining when Reeva ate her last meal was inexact.
The bullet sequence - Reeva's last moments:
He also testified that it was his belief that Reeva was shot first in the hip and last in the head (in agreement with the Mangena, the prosecution expert).
Reeva Steenkamp would have died within seconds after her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius shot her in the head, he told the the High Court.
"I don't think she survived very long thereafter." Botha said the four shots fired at Steenkamp that hit her thigh, arm and finally her head would have taken about four seconds, five at most.
Steenkamp would have been filled with emotions of shock, fear, possibly pain. He testified that after being hit in the thigh, in his opinion, she slid down, was hit again in the arm and then in the head.
She would have had very little blood in her upper respiratory cavity. "So I think death ensued very quickly after sustaining the head injury," said Botha.
Asked by Roux if she could have called out as the shots were fired he said: "I think it's highly unlikely that she would have been able to call out." He said: "Before she could react the remaining bullets would have struck her."
Both testified that he believed the injuries on Reeva's back were caused by her sliding against the magazine rack, and not from ricochets from the "black talon" bullets Pistorius used. This was because there was blood spatter from Steenkamp's injuries on the front of the rack but not inside it.
Nel's Cross-Examination
Prosecutor Nel grilled Botha hard.
He had Botha flustered and often claiming, "I am not a ballistician".
By the end of Nel's cross-examination, Botha had conceded that Reeva could have eaten a couple of hours before her death as the state pathologist Saayman testified, that Botha had not considered height of the bullet holes in his analysis, and that Botha was not certain of the sequence of events.
He also got Botha to reverse his position regarding Reeva sliding rather than falling onto the magazine rack. Nel provided Botha with the evidence photos of the wound and the weave of the top Reeva was wearing. Botha said: "It is far more likely now that this has been brought to my attention that this was caused by a magazine rack rather than the weave."
Very good outcome for Nel, IMO. The defense pathology expert and first witness did essentially nothing to weaken the prosecution/state witnesses' testimonies or theory.
^ Pistorius cried in court again today as the Defense's pathologist expert (Botha) testified
Retired pathologist and professor Jan Botha testified first for the defense (same name as the original lead detective in the case, but no relation).
The stomach contents - last meal time:
He testified that the science behind determining when Reeva ate her last meal was inexact.
The bullet sequence - Reeva's last moments:
He also testified that it was his belief that Reeva was shot first in the hip and last in the head (in agreement with the Mangena, the prosecution expert).
Reeva Steenkamp would have died within seconds after her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius shot her in the head, he told the the High Court.
"I don't think she survived very long thereafter." Botha said the four shots fired at Steenkamp that hit her thigh, arm and finally her head would have taken about four seconds, five at most.
Steenkamp would have been filled with emotions of shock, fear, possibly pain. He testified that after being hit in the thigh, in his opinion, she slid down, was hit again in the arm and then in the head.
She would have had very little blood in her upper respiratory cavity. "So I think death ensued very quickly after sustaining the head injury," said Botha.
Asked by Roux if she could have called out as the shots were fired he said: "I think it's highly unlikely that she would have been able to call out." He said: "Before she could react the remaining bullets would have struck her."
Both testified that he believed the injuries on Reeva's back were caused by her sliding against the magazine rack, and not from ricochets from the "black talon" bullets Pistorius used. This was because there was blood spatter from Steenkamp's injuries on the front of the rack but not inside it.
Nel's Cross-Examination
Prosecutor Nel grilled Botha hard.
He had Botha flustered and often claiming, "I am not a ballistician".
By the end of Nel's cross-examination, Botha had conceded that Reeva could have eaten a couple of hours before her death as the state pathologist Saayman testified, that Botha had not considered height of the bullet holes in his analysis, and that Botha was not certain of the sequence of events.
He also got Botha to reverse his position regarding Reeva sliding rather than falling onto the magazine rack. Nel provided Botha with the evidence photos of the wound and the weave of the top Reeva was wearing. Botha said: "It is far more likely now that this has been brought to my attention that this was caused by a magazine rack rather than the weave."
Very good outcome for Nel, IMO. The defense pathology expert and first witness did essentially nothing to weaken the prosecution/state witnesses' testimonies or theory.