Thursday's installment of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial was largely a by-the-book affair, with the athlete's chief defense lawyer Barry Roux cross-examining the state-appointed forensic analyst Colonel Johannes G. Vermeulen. However, chaos briefly erupted when detailed images of victim Reeva Steenkamp's fatal injuries were shown to the court without warning, with Mr. Pistorius vomiting for the second time this week.
The photos, shown in sequence, showed the bloodstained walls, floors and stairs of Pistorius' Pretorian compound home, as well photos of Pistorius' blood-spattered prosthetic legs and shattered fragments of the bathroom door that Pistorius maintains he beat down with a baseball bat when he realized that Steenkamp had been shot.
The photographs were then explained by GS Schoombie van Rensburg, a former police colonel who was one of the two police officials first at the scene of the crime. He described finding Pistorius in a 'very emotional' state, with Steenkamp's body padded with towels in a bid to stem the bleeding. "At the bottom of the stairs lay a body, wrapped in towels of different colours and also black bags over her head," he said, as reported by The Guardian. Efforts to save Steenkamp - by Pistorius and the daughter of an estate administrator - were in vain, with the 29-year-old paralegal and model dead before paramedics arrived at the scene.
Van Rensburg then described being met at the scene by Hilton Botha, who later became the chief investigating officer, only to be dismissed after being found to be facing murder charges himself. "We then followed the trail of blood up the stairs," said van Rensburg in response to lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel's line of enquiry.
Earlier in proceedings, when Steenkamp's lifeless face was inadvertently shown, Pistorius wept and threw up, as he had done earlier in the week. Steenkamp's close friend Desi Myers, who attended in support of the deceased and provided commemorative badges etched with 'Reeva 1983-2003' to other supporters, also sobbed at the sight of the pictures and had to leave the courtroom.
The trial continues, with Pistorius facing a life term in prison if found guilty. He maintains his innocence.
