OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL: the blade runner oscar pistorius shoots girlfriend

[kevvome]

I hope this murdering fuck Pistorius gets found guilty. We have the most lame and feeble excuse for murder when he says he thought his girlfriend was a burglar and shot her. My money is on her telling him she'd had enough of his shit and wanted to finish it. And I am so glad he has a clown of a defence barrister that is almost as stupid as Pistorius. ''The screams you heard were from Pistorius, not his girlfriend'' I just hope the jury treat it with the contempt it deserves. Now we have the crocodile tears from Pistorius. The cunt probably has a sliced onion in his handkerchief.

[HairOfTheDog]

Stipp confirms he's sure he heard male and female voices that night "intermingled" (HOTD: another big blow for the prosecution).

Huh?

Roux tried to convince Michelle Burger and Chard Johnson (and the court) that the couple heard one voice yelling that night, the voice of Oscar Pistorius. They both insisted that they heard a woman's fearful screams before the shots and then a male voice calling "help" after the shots.

Stipp says he heard both male and female screams that night as well. Roux again suggested that he only heard Pistorius, to which Stipp replied that he was sure he heard two distinctly different voices yelling (though he believes the female voice was after the first shots and before the last shots, IIRC his testimony).

Pistorius' story is that Reeva never screamed/yelled and he only yelled once he realized it was Reeva in the toilet. But, based on all three ear witnesses called to date, a female was in fact yelling. It's damning to Pistorius.

Shit. Whoosh. I typed all that ^ before realizing my mistake in the comment you quoted. Another big blow for the DEFENSE, not the prosecution. Thanks for catching that, crash.

[crash]

When I thought about it some more, I thought maybe you meant a blow for the prosecution as in they landed a big blow. You could run with that..

[HairOfTheDog]

I hope this murdering fuck Pistorius gets found guilty. We have the most lame and feeble excuse for murder when he says he thought his girlfriend was a burglar and shot her. My money is on her telling him she'd had enough of his shit and wanted to finish it. And I am so glad he has a clown of a defence barrister that is almost as stupid as Pistorius. ''The screams you heard were from Pistorius, not his girlfriend'' I just hope the jury treat it with the contempt it deserves. Now we have the crocodile tears from Pistorius. The cunt probably has a sliced onion in his handkerchief.

It's trial by judge in South Africa. One judge decides, with the assistance of two judges she appointed to consult with her during her decision-making process.

While we didn't know the details of what the witnesses reported til trial, Roux presumably has known about them for a long while -- I agree that the "no you didn't!" ear witness defense strategy is lame; especially given that Stipp is unassociated with Burger & Johnson and also claims to have heard a male and female voice, along with gunshots after the first screams (rather than a cricket bat bashing a door).

Still, once Pistorius locked himself into his initial statement immediately following the shooting, unless he would have changed his story (which would have hurt his credibility terribly), Roux was kinda boxed in too. I'm not sure there are any better strategies that he could have attempted in order to explain away the female screams reported by the neighbors.

[crash]

I think the testimony so far has been very damning for Pistorius, as you have previously stated, HotD. I wonder if his counsel are regretting accepting not only this case, but this tact; it's making them look like they are doing a stint in amateur hour. I guess it's hard if you have a client that is more than likely guilty, but is claiming innocence.

Unless Roux has some incredible ace up his sleeve that I'm not seeing, the witness testimony thus far seems to be somewhat of a fait accompli for the defense. Any reasonable assessment of the goings on thus far would see any jury leaning towards a guilty verdict. I think that's written all over Pistorius's face at the moment..

[Duchess]

It all seems clear to me but yet I feel anxious. In the back of my mind I fear the judge will be blinded by Oscar's celebrity, I know that's illogical. Seeing people walk free, who I believe are clearly guilty, has really fucked with my head.

[crash]

It all seems clear to me but yet I feel anxious.

Yeah, I have the same feeling. Hence the ace up his sleeve comment..

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm not worried about the judge, personally. She's got a history of harsh judgments against those accused of domestic abuse and other crimes against women. She seems pretty grounded to me and above being swayed by celebrity. Hope I'm not giving her too much credit here.

I'm more worried about Roux. I agree with crash and kevvome that he's looking rather clownish right now. But, I think he's smart and dogged,and he's only trying to counter prosecution claims and witnesses at this point; reactive mode.

If I were defending Pistorius and boxed into his police statement version of events, I'd have been working my ass off to get as many of the following as possible to present at trial with a passion:

1. People who spoke with Burger, Johnson and Spiff and claim to have been told something different by them than what they testified at trial. Attack their credibility again.

2. A list of all the initial evidence presented by LE/Prosecutors in pre-trial hearings that was later retracted or dropped -- i.e. that Pistorius put his false legs on before shooting, that steroids were found in the search of Pistorius' house, that Pistorius never called for help (and whatever else we don't know about). Attack the integrity of the investigation itself and suggest a conspiracy.

3. A recorded demonstration of a cricket bat banging down a door from the distances at which the ear witnesses were located and a recorded demonstration of 9mm shots from the same distances. If I could get a demo where the two sounded close enough, I'd present it and suggest again that the ear witnesses were mistaken / not credible.

4. A recorded demonstration of Pistorius screaming like a girl from the distances of the witnesses. It wouldn't explain away the two distinct voices the witnesses reported, but I'd probably toss out some bullshit about how his pitch changed due to emotions setting in or something like that.

5. An expert with an alternate and defense-favorable interpretation of the evidence to be presented by the prosecution's forensic witnesses (bullet trajectory, blood spatter, etc...).

If Roux has a couple of such tricks up his sleeve or better ones, he might still be able to generate reasonable doubt that things went down the way the authorities and witnesses claim.

[HairOfTheDog]

Day 5 - March 7, 2014

Roux cross-examined Dr. Stipp
Today, prosecution witness Stipp (Pistorius neighbor and doctor who assessed Reeva right after the shooting) was back on the stand for cross-examination by defense attorney Roux.

He reiterated that he heard male and female voices yelling intermingled. He said he thought he heard gunshots after the screams. Roux said it would have been impossible for Stipp to hear screaming with a closed bathroom window from where he's located; Stipp simply told him that he could only testify to what he did in fact hear - his back patio door was open that night.

Roux again pushed the witness to concede that the loud bangs after the screams could have been from the cricket bat. Stipp repeated that he tought they were gunshots. On redirect, Prosecutor Nel made a good point; he asked Stipp if he believed it would be possible for someone to swing a cricket bat with that much force in such quick succession. Stipp replied that he would not be able to do so in such quick succession.

Witness dismissed. I think Stipp was another strong witness for the prosecution.

[HairOfTheDog]

Day 5 (continued)


Pisotrius' ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor (pictured above) testifies

Oh, the drama and heartache. Oscar Pistorius cheated on her. Twice, even. The second time was with Reeva and that's why they split for good. This according to Samantha Taylor's tearful testimony today. She had to stop twice to compose herself.

So, who the fuck cares? Exactly. But, I think Nel got what he wanted and needed from Taylor's testimony and Roux didn't bat her around much on cross-examination.

She told the court about how in her years with Oscar she never heard him scream in fear. She did hear him scream in anger. He did not sound like a woman when he screamed and yelled - he sounded like a man. She told the court about a couple of incidents where Pistorius got angry or nervous and reached for a gun.

She also told the court about an incident on a road trip she took with Pistorius and Darren Fresco (the guy whose gun Pistorius discharged in the restaurant). They were pulled over by a cop for speeding. The cop saw a gun laying in the car, told them it should not by laying around like that and cocked it so the bullets flew out. Taylor says Pistorius got very angry with the cop and told him he was not allowed to touch his gun. The incident got Pistorius and Fresco all revved up and they wanted to shoot something after the cop left, a traffic light (robot).

When cross-examined by Roux, Taylor testified that Pistorius was very angry in the presence of the cop, very irritated when they drove off, and then joking and laughing after he shot out of the sunroof of the car.

We also learned from Taylor that Oscar slept on the right side of the bed, that he had two cell phones -- one for business and one for personal calls, and that Pistorius always used his personal cellphone in bed, though she wasn't sure what he was doing.

Taylor was called by Nel to impeach Pistorius' character and to show him to be a hotheaded gun nut, IMO. She's the clearly emotional ex, so I don't know if the judge will give much weight to her characterizations, but I think Nel got what he wanted/needed from her.

[Duchess]

I know it can't be easy testifying but it sounds like she was overly emotional. I wonder why, she's had a great deal of time to prepare herself. I'm just sorta thinking out loud, so to speak.

[HairOfTheDog]

Day 5 (continued)

Pieter Baba, the Silverwood security guard on duty the night of the killing, testified today. It was difficult to understand the translator at points, but really compelling testimony.

Baba testified about how the security patrol works at the estates. He's a shift leader for the estate guards.

On the morning in question, one of the guards on bikes had heard shots and reported in to Baba - about 2:55. Baba went to check it out and saw Dr. Stipp on his balcony across from Pistorius' house. All the lights were on at Pistorius' house and Stipp pointed Baba there.

Baba called Pisotrius from outside the house and Pistorius told him "everything is fine".

While Baba was outside Pistorius' house , Pistorius' friend and the manager of the estates Mr. Stander (and his daughter) arrived and rushed to the door - Baba knew something was wrong. He followed Stander in as Pistorius came down the stairs carrying Reeva. Baba said he was so shocked he couldn't even think for a few moments because he'd been told everything was fine.

Roux started cross-examination of Baba and court was adjourned for the weekend.

[HairOfTheDog]

----------------Day 5 References-----------------







Live Tweets from the courtroom:
Part 1: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Oscar_...1-20140307
Part 2: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Oscar_...2-20140307

[Duchess]

Baba called Pisotrius from outside the house and Pistorius told him "everything is fine".

Wow, just wow. That's got to be good for the prosecution, right?

I was incredulous reading that. That's hardly the reaction of someone who professes to have accidentally killed the woman he loves.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's very good for the prosecution. Will be interesting to see how Roux addresses it on Monday's cross-examination of Baba.

Baba was adamant about what Pistorius told him on the phone minutes before he saw Pistorius carrying a bleeding Reeva down the stairs. Through the translator, Baba testified that Pistorius' exact words were: "Security, everything is fine."

It's possible that Roux will concede that Pistorius was trying to contain the situation and that since he'd already alerted Stander (presumably), there was no need for Pistorius to inform Baba of what went down. We'll see. That could backfire -- it doesn't look good for Pistorius to have been worrying about his own image as Reeva lay dying. So, maybe Roux will just continue to insist that Baba is mistaken or lying about what he was told by Pistorius instead.

[Duchess]

I saw Oscar sobbing & gagging during some of the testimony. I hope he is as frightened as he's ever been, it won't even come close to what that Reeva felt.

[HairOfTheDog]

I saw Oscar sobbing & gagging during some of the testimony. I hope he is as frightened as he's ever been, it won't even come close to what that Reeva felt.

Imagine not only being shot by your lover, but then to be laying there fighting for life with your shooter as your only hope. Terrifying.

I thought the first week of trial was really informative and interesting. So much of what was revealed hadn't been known to the public in advance.

Two things outside of the testimony really irked me. 1. Roux bringing the children of one of his friends into the court room to get Pistorius's autograph. 2. Pistorius approaching and shaking hands with the ANC (women's advocacy group there to support Reeva) in the court room. Transparent PR attempts, IMO.

[aussiefriend]

I saw Oscar sobbing & gagging during some of the testimony. I hope he is as frightened as he's ever been, it won't even come close to what that Reeva felt.

Do you really think he is afraid? I saw it, and thought that they were cry baby tears and that he was doing this as part of an act.

[Duchess]

Oh, I think some of his bullshit is an act for sure. I think he's probably pretty scared of doing some serious time. He weeps for himself.

[Duchess]

The judge has banned live broadcasting of Reeva's autopsy results & apparently Oscar is barfing in court.