Pistorius was not wearing prosthetic legs, expert claims
Date
3/13/2014 5:02:27 AM
(MENAFN- Kora) The evidence - given by South African police forensic expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen - contradicted claims by the Paralympian that he was wearing his artificial limbs when he broke the locked door with a cricket bat to reach Reeva Steenkamp
Mr Vermeulen re-enacted the incident in court as part of a reconstruction, and knelt down to swing the bat to suggest the angle of the marks on the door were made by someone shorter than Pistorius
Pistorius is charged with the murder of Ms Steenkamp, who he admits shooting through a locked toilet door at his home, and faces life imprisonment if found guilty
The 27-year-old denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp, stating that he thought her to be an intruder
Part of Pistorius' defence centres on the justification of the shooting because he felt vulnerable due to his disabilities, and he previously stated that he put on his prosthetic legs and then smashed down the door, a claim that is contradicted by Mr Vermeulen
"The marks on the door are actually consistent with him not having his legs on and I suspect they must be similar to the height that he was when he fired the shots," he told the court
Pistorius' defence team suggested that marks on the bottom of the door are a clear sign of where Mr Pistorius had tried to kick open the door using his prosthetic legs. Mr Vermeulen agreed it was possible
The trial continues
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.