Oscar Pistorius trial

Defence: why were you at such pains to qualify your testimony about her stomach contents? Never understood your evidence to be exact? No.

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 8:26:13 AM

eNCA

@eNCAnews

Judge Masipa is back. Roux continues. Prof. Saayman reads names of the publications into the record. #OscarTrial

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 8:26:03 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius there is no time set for this adjournment - we’ll break for as long as it takes Roux to study the articles. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:59:19 AM

David Smith

@SmithInAfrica

Roux asking for copies of medical articles not included in post-mortem. Saayman insists he did not rely on these but his experience.

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:51:04 AM

Rohit Kachroo

@RohitKachrooITV

Oscar Pistorius is far more composed than he was yesterday as he listens to pathologist's evidence

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:49:53 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Roux asks for an adjournment to study these articles, and will present to the court the textbook reference he has. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:48:29 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Saayman says he didn't rely on academic articles to make his finding on when Reeva ate last. #OscarTrial @eNCAnews

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:48:20 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

State will argue that Saayman evidence that Reeva ate at 12. 1am contradicts #OscarPistorius bail version that they went to bed at 10pm.

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:48:18 AM

Rohit Kachroo

@RohitKachrooITV

Saayman questioned about Reeva's last meal. Y'day he said she probably ate two hours before death, but admitted it wasn't "exact science"

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:47:09 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Roux suggesting that Saayman isn't an authority on issue of digestion. Likely defense experts disagree with him on Reeva last meal time

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:46:14 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Roux now begins questioning Saayman about his testimony re Reeva's last meal - he said she ate two hours before her death. @eNCAnews

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:43:28 AM

RAGreeneCNN

@RAGreeneCNN

#OscarTrial prosecution establishes pathologist credentials: Saayman estimates he's done or supervised 10-15,000 (!!!) autopsies

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:41:45 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Roux moves to the urine in the bladder - Saayman says the small amount found was murky. Not unusual. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:40:14 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Saayman the shot to the ear would have caused immediate incapacitation. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:39:08 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Saayman says bullet injuries to arm and hip wouldn't affect Reeva cognitive function, but wound to head would be different @eNCAnews

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:39:04 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Roux asks Saayman if devastation of Reeva wounds would have been more intense if shots fired in quick succession @eNCAnews #OscarTrial

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:38:50 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Nel concludes. Now over to Roux. He asks about the devastating effect of the wounds. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:35:19 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Nel asks Saayman - how many post mortems have you conducted?
Between 10k and 15k over the last 30 years. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:33:44 AM

Judge Masipa says that live blogging and Tweeting of Saayman's testimony is allowed.

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:33:19 AM

Barry Bateman

@barrybateman

#OscarPistorius Nel said yesterday he’d need just another 15 minutes with the Prof before Roux can start cross-examination. BB

Mar. 11, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:21:41 AM

Here's what happened yesterday:

Reeva Steenkamp suffered three devastating injuries, any one of which could potentially have killed her, when her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius shot hollow-tipped bullets through a bathroom door into her hip, arm and head, the pathologist who conducted her autopsy said.

Given the angle of the bullet that passed through her skull, it's unlikely she was standing when the shot hit her above the right eye, Gert Saayman told the judge who must decide if Pistorius murdered her deliberately or mistook her for a burglar, as he claims.

That shot, the last of three to hit her, was "incapacitating and probably almost instantly fatal," the pathologist said.

Pistorius retched into a bucket throughout Saayman's two hours of testimony on Monday, clutching his head in his hands and covering his ears between rounds of weeping, vomiting and dry heaving.

And there's likely to be more of the same when Saayman returns to the stand on Tuesday. He's due to continue testifying briefly for the prosecution before he is cross-examined by the defense.

At the request of lawyers on both sides and Saayman himself, Judge Thokozile Masipa banned the live transmission of the pathologist's testimony. Ruling it too grisly, she ordered no live broadcasting, tweeting or blogging.

Pistorius, 27, does not deny firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp, but pleaded not guilty when his trial opened March 3, saying his action was a terrible mistake, not the deliberate murder of his model girlfriend of nearly four months.

Saayman said her wounds were consistent with "ranger" bullets, which open up "like the petals of a flower" inside a body to cause maximum tissue damage.

The edges of "ranger" bullet fragments are so sharp that medical students are warned about them.
If surgeons or pathologists operate on a person shot with them, "you need to be particularly careful because you can easily cut or injure yourself on these jagged edges," Saayman testified.

Saayman also testified that the state of food in Steenkamp's stomach at the autopsy suggests she probably ate within two hours of her death.

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:13:02 AM

Yesterday, Judge Masipa ordered that pathologist Gert Saayman's testimony couldn't be broadcast live, or live Tweeted/blogged. Richard Greene and Robyn Curnow who are in court can send us information during court breaks.

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:11:21 AM

Good morning. Oscar Pistorius has arrived in court. Proceedings are set to get underway in about 20 minutes.

by emily.smith 3/11/2014 7:09:18 AM

Since Saayman's testimony isn't private, print journalists might be able to send information for publication.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:11:24 AM

RAGreeneCNN

@RAGreeneCNN

GAGGED. #OscarTrial judge orders no livetweeting as Gert Saayman testifies. He did the Reeva Steenkamp autopsy. #overandout

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:07:38 AM

Judge Masipa says no broadcast or audio or television of Saayman's testimony, including Twitter. We're in the dark.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:05:31 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Ferreira says defense and state both have power to veto whatever material is proposed for broadcast in summarized form. @eNCAnews

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:05:07 AM

David Smith

@SmithInAfrica

Media lawyer: Claim that the broadcasters have no regard for the dignity of the deceased is "simply not true". #Pistorius

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:03:44 AM

Nel has nothing further. It's now up to the judge.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:03:37 AM

Oldwage is back up to rebut Ferreira.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:01:02 AM

Ferreira asks that Judge Masipa be very clear in her instructions (whatever they may be) so that there's no confusion.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 10:00:12 AM

Ferreira: There isn't sufficient basis to restrict the use of Twitter.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:59:02 AM

Ferreira says banning Twitter or clearing the court of media would be unprecedented.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:58:04 AM

Ferreira says media editors would look at the testimony tonight and put together a summarized version of Saayman's evidence for review.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:56:57 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Nel arguing against broadcast of Saayman testimony, as well as live tweeting of it. He says print media should be allowed to summarize

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:54:01 AM

Judge Masipa (who is presiding over this trial) used to be a crime reporter.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:53:54 AM

RAGreeneCNN

@RAGreeneCNN

Oscar Pistorius briefly has head down in hands as lawyers argue over broadcast of Reeva Steenkamp autopsy. Court hot, still, mostly silent

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:53:18 AM

Nel: If there is a compromise we want strict conditions to the compromise. Nel also brings up Twitter. Says if radio and TV are banned from carrying the witnesses' testimony, Twitter should be too.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:53:07 AM

Nel suggests that all parties sign off on the media compilation of testimony before it be broadcast.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:51:38 AM

Emma Sadleir

@EmmaSadleir

The law in SA is that a deceased person no longer has dignity rights, but family arguably does #OscarTrial

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:49:59 AM

Nel agrees that the dignity of the deceased, her family and friends, and unsuspecting members of society be protected. Nel doesn't see how Ferreira's solution would be implemented.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:49:45 AM

Karyn Maughan

@karynmaughan

Oldwage: it can hardly be in the public interest to have this kind of evidence broadcast. #OscarTrial @eNCAnews

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:48:08 AM

Oldwage brings up Twitter and if it'd be included in the ban or be allowed during Saayman's testimony.

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:47:58 AM

Robyn Curnow

@RobynCurnowCNN

Debate in court over the limits of the media, public's right to know and deceased's dignity. #oscarpistorius

Mar. 10, 2014

Reply
Retweet
Favorite

by emily.smith 3/10/2014 9:46:24 AM