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Day 9: Inside the Oscar Pistorius trial

Summary of court proceedings from last session of Day 9 - Tymon Smith

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel lead Colonel Schoombé Van Rensburg, the first policeman at Reeva Steenkamp’s murder scene, through what he found in Oscar Pistorius' bedroom and bathroom on that fatal Valentines Day morning last year when the Paralympian had killed his model girlfriend.

Van Rensburg and Warrant Officer Hilton Botha followed the blood trail that lead from the bottom of the stairs where Steenkamp's body lay covered by towels and black plastic rubbish bags, through the Blade Runner’s bedroom, to the toilet in which she was shot dead.

A series of photos showed an air gun and baseball bat leaning against a glass sunglass display cabinet at the entrance to the bedroom and a gun holster lying on the left-hand bedside table.

A cartridge case was found in the walk-in wardrobe passage outside the bathroom entrance. Three other cartridges were found inside the bathroom.

The blood spattered cricket bat that Pistorius had used to break down the toilet door through which he had shot and killed Steenkamp, lay on the bathroom floor next to a bloodstained towel.

Pistorius's cocked 9mm Parabellum pistol lay on the bathroom mat next to two cell phones, also on the floor. Pieces of the broken toilet door were scattered across the floor.

One window outside the toilet cubicle was open with the blinds up and the broken toilet door had the key in the outside lock. The final photo of the day showed pools of blood leading into the cubicle where Steenkamp was killed.

Van Rensburg will resume his testimony on Friday morning at 9.30.

14:09: Summary of court proceedings from second session of Day 9 - Tymon Smith

The High Court in Pretoria moved closer to the scene of Reeva Steenkamp’s killing during the ninth day of the murder trial of her Paralympian boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius.

Former Boschkop Police Station Commander "Schoombë" van Rensburg, who resigned from the South African Police Service (SAPS) last year after 29 years of service, was the first policeman to arrive at Pistorius' Silver Woods Estate home in the early hours of February 14.

The state alleges that Pistorius had murdered Steenkamp with premeditated intent on that fatal February morning while she was locked in a toilet. Pistorius maintains the killing was a case of mistaken identity.

Van Rensburg said he found Steenkamp's body lying covered under black plastic bags and towels at the foot of the stairs.

According to Van Rensburg, a very emotional Pistorius was in the kitchen, being comforted by estate manager Johan Stander's daughter, Clarice.

Van Rensburg said that Clarice Stander told him that both she and her father had been called by Pistorius for assistance and that the athlete had asked them to use his car to get Steenkamp to hospital, but that her father had refused and insisted on calling an ambulance.

The ambulance was on the scene when Van Rensburg arrived.

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha then joined Van Rensburg at the scene of the killing and, together, the two policemen followed a trail of blood splatters leading up the stairs towards the bathroom.

Barry Roux  leaps up and says: "My Lady, actually he was very emotional, not emotional."

A former police officer was called to testify on Thursday about the crime scene in Oscar Pistorius's home, as the athlete's murder trail continued in the High Court in Pretoria.

Before ex-colonel Gert van Rensburg was called to the stand, prosecutor Gerrie Nel addressed Judge Thokozile Masipa.

He told her all images of Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp had been taken out of the presentation that would follow.

"I asked him what happened and he did not answer," said former policeman Colonel Gert van Rensburg, who attended to the scene at Pistorius's home on February 14 2013.

He testified in Pistorius's murder trial that he saw the athlete in the kitchen of the house in Silver Woods, Pretoria and he was emotional at that stage.

This caused his counsel Barry Roux SC to leap up and say: "My Lady, actually he was very emotional, not emotional."

Van Rensburg described how he had been called to the scene after attending to an armed robbery earlier in the evening.

When he walked, in he saw a body covered in clothes and towels with blood visible.

He was told by a paramedic that she had been dead on arrival.

Oscar reacts to Reeva's photo being shown in court

Oscar Pistorius wept as the State inadvertently showed pictures of his dead girlfriend on a screen next to him in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

When prosecutor Gerrie Nel indicated that a visual was being sought for his line of questioning, Pistorius bent over and held his A4 notepad over his head.

Visuals of Reeva Steenkamp's body were briefly seen on the screens positioned around the court along with images of a gun, the bloodied toilet cubicle floor and bullet casings.

A loud noise was heard coming from Pistorius and his face and neck were red.

Earlier this week, he retched repeatedly as pathologist Gert Saayman described Steenkamp's injuries after he shot her dead while she was in the toilet adjoining his bedroom.

When Saayman testified, the court referred to printed photographs distributed among them in a file.

Police forensic analyst Colonel Johannes Vermeulen, who had been testifying on the door Pistorius shot at, was released from giving evidence shortly afterwards.

Judge Thokozile Masipa allowed an adjournment for the preparation of other photographs.

Pistorius stood up for Masipa's exit from the court with her assessors and as soon as the police officer maintaining order gave the all clear, Pistorius wiped his mouth and his sister Aimee went to him to comfort him.

His co-counsel Kenny Oldwadge joined him.

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year.

He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Footprint on door panel probed

How a footprint got onto a panel of Oscar Pistorius's toilet door came under the spotlight at his murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Barry Roux, for Pistorius, explored several possibilities of how the print got onto the panel.

Pistorius broke the door down with a cricket bat after he shot Reeva Steenkamp through it, apparently thinking she was an intruder.

He argues he kicked at the door after putting his prosthetic legs on.

A photo displayed in court shows the long, narrow panel lying on the floor of Pistorius's blood-smeared, tiled floor. About three large wooden splinters lie alongside the panel.

Forensic investigator Colonel Johannes Vermeulen told the court the footprint was on the side of the panel facing the floor.

"The mark could have been imprinted on the panel by him [Pistorius] stumbling on the panel," Roux said, adding that he could then, somehow, have turned it over afterwards.

"That is a possibility that is on the table," Vermeulen said.

He pointed out that the blood was smeared underneath the panel, indicating that the blood was on the floor first, and the panel was then put over it.

The door and the replica of the cubicle, complete with a toilet, cistern, and magazine rack, was set up next to the witness box in court GD.

Four bullet holes are clustered on the right side of the door, just under the keyhole. The toilet is to the left of the door.

Vermeulen is the commander of the material analysis sub-section at the forensic science laboratory.

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year.

He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Expert unable to get files

The police forensic analyst testifying in Oscar Pistorius's murder trial was unable to produce case files of tests he had previously done, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.

Colonel Johannes Vermeulen said it had not been possible for him to get access to the case files.

By the time court adjourned on Wednesday, the files had already been locked up, he told Barry Roux, SC, for Pistorius, after a tea adjournment. Roux requested the files on Wednesday afternoon.

This was after he began honing in on Vermeulen's expertise when he was testifying about the angles of a cricket bat hitting the door Pistorius said he had to break down to free his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after he fatally shot her.

Pistorius is accused of the murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year. He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Judge looks at Pistorius's cricket bat

The presiding judge inspected the cricket bat Oscar Pistorius used to break open his toilet door, during his murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Forensic investigator Col Johannes Vermeulen was explaining to the court, under questioning from prosecutor Gerrie Nel, at what angle he believed the bat struck the door.

Pistorius broke the door down with a cricket bat after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through it, apparently thinking she was an intruder.

He argues he kicked at the door after putting his prosthetic legs on.

Vermeulen referred on Thursday to a photograph displayed in court to make his point. It shows Vermeulen holding the bat against the door at an angle.

He told the court some material from the door had rubbed off on the toe of the bat as it struck an edge of a panel in the door.

Judge Thokozile Masipa interjected: "Can I just have a look?"

A court official held the bat up for her to see. She peered at it, before it was passed to her two assessors.

The door and the replica of the cubicle, complete with a toilet, cistern, and magazine rack, was set up next to the witness box in court GD.

Four bullet holes are clustered on the right side of the door, just under the keyhole. The toilet is to the left of the door.

Vermeulen is the commander of the material analysis sub-section at the forensic science laboratory.

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year.

He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

Paper shuffling

Barry Roux, for Pistorius, was looking at three files relating to the handling of Pistorius's cricket bat and gun holster.

Paperwork was shuffled and passed around as Oscar Pistorius's defence probed the handling of evidence during the athlete's murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Barry Roux, for Pistorius, was looking at three files relating to the handling of Pistorius's cricket bat and gun holster.

Col Johannes Vermeulen told Roux he received the bat and holster sealed in evidence bags on March 8, 2013 from the forensic laboratory's manual biology section. He passed them on to a police photographer on March 11 and 12.

Roux asked him how many positions he assumed when testing how Pistorius would have used the bat to strike his toilet door, and how many photographs he took of this process.

As photos of the scene of the crime, including the blood bespattered toilet floor, were displayed on screens around the court, Pistorius, wearing glasses, looked at Vermeulen as he spoke.

Pistorius had smashed the door open with a cricket bat to get to a dying Steenkamp after he shot her through the door, apparently thinking she was an intruder.

The door and the replica of the cubicle, complete with a toilet, cistern, and magazine rack, was set up next to the witness box in court GD. Four bullet holes are clustered on the right side of the door, just under the keyhole. The toilet is to the left of the door.

Vermeulen is the commander of the material analysis sub-section at the forensic science laboratory.

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year.

He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

11:37am: Summary of the trial proceedings from Day 9 of Oscar trial thus far - Tymon Smith

Advocate Barry Roux continued to hammer police forensic analyst Colonel Johannes Vermeulen during the continuation of cross examination on the morning of the ninth day of the Oscar Pistorius trial.

Roux questioned Vermeulen's qualifications, filing system and failure to test whether an unidentified mark on Pistorius' toilet door could have been caused by his prostheses kicking against the door.

Friends of Reeva Steenkamp and Pistorius himself were visibly upset when, while searching for photographs of the door taken on the fateful night, photos of Steenkamp's body flashed briefly on court screens.

Roux also asked Vermeulen whether he had seen a recent YouTube video in which a sound test comparison is conducted between the sound of a cricket bat and that of a 9mm pistol being fired.

Vermeulen said that he had not seen the video and had not conducted any sound comparisons as part of his forensic analysis.

Scene photos from the 14th are shown: blood spatters on the floor, Reeva, bloodied prosthetic legs...

A picture of the bloodied prosthetic legs of Oscar Pistorius was shown at his murder trial on Thursday as his defence probed the State's apparent incomplete analysis of evidence.

The right leg had blood streaks on it, and one of the grey ankle socks had a dark blood stain near the toes.

Pistorius is on trial for murder after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year.

While the photographs of the double amputee's artificial legs were being sought, and as an official was scrolling through the photo files, a picture of Steenkamp, covered in blood and lying on the floor was seen on screens placed around the court to gasps from those who noticed it.

The court has heard that only a shin was examined, with State forensic analyst Colonel Johannes Vermeulen explaining that the feet were not analysed because he had not been asked to do so.

Vermeulen said he had received the legs without the socks.

"It would have been fantastic as a qualified foot print examiner seeing that mark... to just do the test," said defence lawyer Barry Roux SC after a morning of tearing into apparent omissions in the forensic analysis conducted after Steenkamp's death.

Pistorius has admitted that he fired four shots into a toilet cubicle at his home thinking there was an intruder, while he was on his stumps.

When he realised it could have been Steenkamp he said he put his prosthetic legs on and kicked at the door to free her, then bashed it with a cricket bat until he could get to the key on the other side, according to his bail application statement.

Vermeulen has told the court he believes the evidence shows Pistorius was still on his stumps when he hit at the door, based on measurements, but he left this theory out of his report.

Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to murder and to Firearms Act charges relating to the alleged reckless discharge of a firearm in a public place.

Once was allegedly at Tasha's restaurant in Johannesburg, the other allegedly out of a car driving through the Modderfontein area.

Forensics squeezed at Pistorius trial - Sapa

Oscar Pistorius's lawyer seized on a State forensic analyst's apparent omissions in collecting evidence for the paralympian's murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria.

Barry Roux, SC, wanted to know on Thursday why Colonel Johannes Vermeulen had not analysed a prosthetic foot of the double amputee which was handed in as evidence.

The significance of the prosthetic foot and door became evident on Wednesday when Vermeulen was asked to testify on the cricket bat Pistorius said he used to break the toilet door down, after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 2013.

Vermeulen had said that in his opinion Pistorius was on his stumps when he bashed the cricket bat into the door, based on height measurements of marks on the door, even though he had left this out of his report.

Pistorius said at his bail hearing that he was on his stumps when he fired four shots into the door, then when he realised it was Steenkamp, he put his "legs" on and struck at the door with a cricket bat.

Roux also wanted to know why Vermeulen had not analysed a section of the door which had a mark which could corroborate Pistorius's version that he had his prosthetic legs on and kicked the door down to free Steenkamp.

He also wanted to know why Vermeulen only examined the shin of the prosthetic leg, and not the foot.

"I was not requested to do analysis on the prosthetic foot, except for that mark that was on the shin," said Vermeulen.

He reiterated Wednesday's testimony that he had only been asked to focus on analysing the cricket bat and the strike marks from the bat on the door.

He denied reading the contents of Pistorius's bail application, saying he had only seen a part of it when he walked past it when it was open on the desk.

He repeated his opinion that it was possible that the mark on the door, which looks like a shoe print, could be from a kick, but unless analysis was done there was no certainty. Pistorius could also have stood on a broken piece of door later.

Roux said it would be demonstrated that Pistorius can kick high.

He said that although Vermeulen claimed to work for both the accused and the State, he had already said he did "not bother" to check for anything unrelated to the cricket bat.

"I ignored those that I could immediately link with the cricket bat because I know there were various other investigations going on and different issues with the door," he said.

Pistorius has been charged with the murder of Steenkamp in his home in Silver Woods estate, Pretoria, as well as charges under the Firearms Act relating to the alleged discharge of a firearm at Tasha's restaurant, Johannesburg, and out the sunroof of a car driving back from the Vaal River.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Forensic cop's credentials questioned - Sapa

Oscar Pistorius's lawyer began the ninth day of his murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday by probing the qualifications of a forensic investigator.

Replying to questions by Barry Roux, SC, for Pistorius, Colonel Johannes Vermeulen said he had completed courses in fibre comparisons, in explosives and paint analysis, and fire investigation.

He also completed a course with the trace evidence unit of the United States FBI in 1998.

On Wednesday he told the court he had a BSc with chemistry and zoology as majors, and a master's degree in chemistry from North West University.

Roux asked Vermeulen if he would be willing to make available his own cellphone records from Wednesday night and Thursday morning. He did not explain why he wanted them. Vermeulen agreed.

Vermeulen on Wednesday testified about the cricket bat and the toilet door in Pistorius's home. He used the bat to bash open the door after he had shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through it, thinking she was an intruder.

The door and the replica of the cubicle, complete with a toilet, cistern, and magazine rack, was still set up next to the witness box in court GD.

Four bullet holes are clustered on the right side of the door, just under the keyhole. The toilet is to the left of the door.

On Wednesday Vermeulen testified about the marks made on the door by the bat. He is the commander of the material analysis sub-section at the forensic science laboratory.

He told the court he had more than 29 years of experience in scientific analysis and completed almost 1400 forensic investigations.

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp in his home on February 14 last year.

He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On September 30, 2012 he allegedly fired a shot from his 9mm pistol through the open sunroof of a car while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Day 9 of Oscar trial - Sapa

Day nine of Oscar Pistorius's murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria will see forensic expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen back in the witness stand.

On Wednesday, he disputed Pistorius's claim that he was wearing his prosthetic legs when he broke down a locked door to reach his dying girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Vermeulen told the court that the disabled athlete was on his stumps both when he shot at the door and when he battered it down with a cricket bat.

At prosecutor Gerrie Nel's request, Vermeulen demonstrated the angle at which he had to swing the bat to strike the door where it bore a dent made on the night of the shooting.

The mark was 1.53 metres from the bottom of the door of the toilet cubicle in Pistorius's home in which Steenkamp was shot dead.

Vermeulen was the first policeman to take the stand since Pistorius went on trial last week and pleaded not guilty to the premeditated murder of the model he dated for three months.

His testimony appeared to take Pistorius's defence by surprise, and advocate Barry Roux complained that he felt "ambushed".