Sheikh Mohamed extended his sympathies during a visit to the mourning majlis in Al Ain
uae10 hours ago
Detective Hilton Botha’s often confused testimony left prosecutors rubbing their heads in frustration as he misjudged distances and said testosterone — banned for professional athletes in some cases — was found at the scene, only to be later contradicted by the prosecutor’s office.
Police, Botha acknowledged, left a 9 mm slug from the barrage that killed Reeva Steenkamp inside a toilet and lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house. And the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.
Authorities, Roux asserted, were selectively taking “every piece of evidence to try to extract the most possibly negative connotation and present it to the court.”
The case has riveted South Africa, with journalists and the curious crowding into the brick-walled courtroom where Pistorius, dubbed the Blade Runner for his prosthetic legs, faces a charge of premeditated murder in the Valentine’s Day slaying.
Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and shot her out of fear, while prosecutors say he planned the killing and attacked her as she cowered behind a locked bathroom door.
The day seemed to start out well for the prosecution, with Botha offering new details of the shooting that appeared to call into question Pistorius’ account of the moments leading up to the 29-year-old model’s death.
Ballistic evidence, he said, showed the bullets that killed her had been fired from a height, supporting the prosecution’s assertion that Pistorius was wearing prosthetic legs when he took aim at the bathroom door. The athlete has maintained he was standing only on his stumps, and felt vulnerable and frightened as he opened fire from a low position.
Projecting a diagram of the bedroom and the bathroom, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said it showed Pistorius had to walk past his bed to get to the bathroom and could not have done so without seeing that Steenkamp was not asleep there.
“There’s no other way of getting there,” Nel said in disputing Pistorius’ claim that he had no idea Steenkamp was no longer in bed when he pumped four bullets into the bathroom door, striking her with three.
Botha backed the prosecutor up, saying the holster for Pistorius’ 9 mm pistol was found under the left side of the bed, where Steenkamp slept, and it would have been impossible for Pistorius to get the gun without checking to see if she was there.
“I believe that he knew that Reeva was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door,” the detective said.
Botha described how bullets struck Steenkamp in the head and shattered her right arm and hip, eliciting sobs from Pistorius, who held his head in hands.
However, when asked if Steenkamp’s body showed “any pattern of defensive wounds” or bruising from an assault, Botha said “no.” He again responded “no” when asked if investigators found anything inconsistent with Pistorius’ version of events, though he later said nothing contradicted the police version either.
Testimony began with the prosecutor telling the court that before the shooting, a neighbor heard “nonstop” shouting between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. at Pistorius’ upscale home in a gated community in the capital, Pretoria.
However, Botha later said under cross examination that the witness was in a house 600 yards (550 meters) away, possibly out of earshot. He cut that estimate in half when questioned again by the prosecutor, as confusion reigned for much of his testimony.
At one point, Botha told the court that police found syringes and two boxes of testosterone in Pistorius’ bedroom — testimony the prosecution later withdrew, saying it was too early to identify the substance, which was still being tested.
“It is not certain (what it is) until the forensics” are completed, Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecution Agency, told The Associated Press. It’s not clear if it was “a legal or an illegal medication for now.”
The defense also disputed the claim. “It is an herbal remedy,” Roux said. “It is not ... a banned substance.”
Still, Botha offered potentially damaging details about Pistorius’ past, saying the athlete was once involved in an accidental shooting at a restaurant in Johannesburg and asked someone else “to take the rap.”
The runner also threatened men on two separate occasions, Botha said, allegedly telling one he’d “break his legs.”
The detective said police found two iPhones in Pistorius’ bathroom and two BlackBerrys in his bedroom, and none had been used to phone for help. Guards at the gated community did call the athlete, Botha said, and all he said was: “I’m all right,” as he wept uncontrollably.
Roux later suggested that a fifth phone, not collected by the police, was used by Pistorius to call for help.
The question now is whether Botha’s troubled testimony will be enough to convince Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair to keep Pistorius in prison until trial. While Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements under South African law, the magistrate has said he would consider loosening them based on testimony in the hearing. Final arguments were scheduled for Thursday.
Sheikh Mohamed extended his sympathies during a visit to the mourning majlis in Al Ain
uae10 hours ago
According to an official, several people are still feared trapped in the debris
asia11 hours ago
Amateurs Afzaal Ahmad, Parvez Ahmed, and Arbaaz Ahmad shine with an Impressive 89-point performance at the Emirates Golf Club
sports11 hours ago
The Meteorological Organisation that it is closely monitoring what is being circulated on social media
mena12 hours ago
There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa12 hours ago
Salama Alfalacy is into realistic art featuring landscapes and wildlife, while Meera Jamal Al Midfa is setting new grounds in performance art and filmmaking
arts13 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport13 hours ago
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
asia14 hours ago