Adjournment for Pistorius Trial
Oscar Pistorius's murder trial adjourned shortly after it started on Tuesday for his defence to check the articles that the pathologist referred to during testimony on Reeva Steenkamp's death.
Lawyer Barry Roux speaks with his client, South African paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius (right), during a tea break during his trial for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, at the high court in Pretoria, on March 7, 2014
Barry Roux SC said he would need about half an hour to read through the articles, not cited in Professor Gert Saayman’s post mortem report, which left Pistorius retching in court when it was read in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.
The testimony related to her bladder contents when she died.
Before Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the adjournment, Saayman interjected to say that his findings were not just based on reading academic articles, but years of continuous synthesis of his own experience and years of continuous reading of literature.
Roux said he too had an article, from a textbook, which he would like to give Saayman during the break.
In his cross-examination, Saayman repeated that Steenkamp had about a teaspoon of cloudy urine in her bladder when she died after being shot by Pistorius on February 14, 2013.
The murky appearance was due to the breakdown of the cells in the lining of the bladder.
He said that a few seconds after being shot, there was minimum impact on a person’s cognitive capacity.
He discussed the factors that affect how often people emptied their bladder.
Tuesday’s proceedings appeared to be less dramatic for Pistorius, who was quiet compared with Monday when he retched during descriptions of Steenkamp’s physical injuries.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering her, as well as to several Firearms Act charges.
– Sapa
