Steenkamp shot while facing closed toilet door
Print Edition
OSCAR Pistorius’ girlfriend was standing in a toilet cubicle, facing the closed door when she was hit in the right hip by the first of four bullets that he fired, a police ballistics expert testified yesterday at the double-amputee runner’s murder trial.
Reeva Steenkamp fell back onto a magazine holder and crossed her arms over her head to protect herself, said Captain Chris Mangena. The second bullet missed Steenkamp, ricocheted off the wall and broke into fragments, bruising her back, he said.
Steenkamp was then hit in her right arm and in the head by the third and fourth shots fired by Pistorius with his 9 mm pistol, he said. She collapsed with her head on the toilet seat, Mangena said.
Pistorius, 27, is charged with premeditated murder in Steenkamp’s death on February 14 last year and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He says he shot Steenkamp, 29, by mistake, as he thought she was an intruder.
Loud screaming
Pistorius says Steenkamp went to the toilet during the night without him knowing, but prosecutors charge he killed her after an argument that caused her to flee and hide. Neighbors have testified to hearing loud screaming before and during the shots being fired.
Ballistics expert Mangena concluded that one of the final two bullets fired by Pistorius went through Steenkamp’s left hand, which she held over her head, before it penetrated her skull.
As Mangena re-enacted Steenkamp’s cowering position, Pistorius put his fingers in his ears.
Mangena described the impact of the hollow point bullets in Pistorius’ gun, designed to cause maximum damage.
“It hits the target, it opens up, it creates six talons ...” Mangena said. “It cuts through the organs of a human being.”
The defense said it will challenge Mangena’s testimony regarding the sequence of the shots.
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