As the second week of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial draws to a close, the Olympian's defense team has focused efforts on demonstrating the incompetence of the Pretoria police force, with damning testimonies that highlighted errors made in the maintenance of the crime scene and collection of evidence.
One such testimony came from the commanding officer who was first on the scene, Colonel G.S. van Rensburg, who condemned the actions of other police staff, including a firearms specialist who picked up the gun - and then released the magazine - without donning gloves first. Separately, van Rensburg advised the staff to carefully monitor a blood-spattered box containing eight expensive watches, believing the chaos of the crime scene to be an optimal environment theft. Sure enough, one watch was later noted as missing. Van Rensburg himself was later discharged from the police force after the removal of the bathroom door - on his orders - was thought to have further contaminated evidence.
Van Rensburg also said that he did not arrest Pistorius immediately, though he warned the athlete that he was being treated as a suspect. "I told him I observed him as a suspect at that stage," van Rensburg said. "I warned him of his rights. I said to him I wasn't arresting him at that stage ... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene."
Images displayed during the trial showed Pistorius soaked in blood from the waist down, with his clothes and prosthetic legs. The prosecution maintains that the runner intimidated his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, into the bathroom of his Pretoria villa during an argument, later shooting her through the door. Pistorius has been protesting innocence, with his defense team instead posing that the athlete heard noises that he suspected as an intruder, and, feeling vulnerable without his prosthetic legs, fired his gun to protect Steenkamp and avoid harm himself.
Photos of the blood-stained crime scene were shown to the court, with Pistorius remaining composed. On two previous occasions this week, he vomited, once when pictures of Steenkamp's injuries were mistakenly shown, and earlier when the extent of her injuries were aired in great detail.
Regardless of the verdict, Pistorius is not expected to have an easy run at the end of the trial. Several of his sponsors have already dropped their contracts with the athlete, including Nike, Thierry Mugler, and Oakley, as has the Icelandic company that produces his running blades, Össur.
