Pistorius vomits in court as pathologist describes how he shot Reeva Steenkamp with bullets 'designed to cause maximum damage'

• Prof Gert Saayman gives graphic testimony of model's bullet wounds

• Struck four times - in head, elbow, hip and the webbing of her left hand

• Bullets designed to 'expand and mushroom' to cause maximum damage

• 'Food in stomach suggested she ate within two hours of death at 3am'

• Paralympian's account said the couple went to bed at 10pm that night

• Court forced to adjourn twice as Paralympian breaks down in the dock

• Judge had earlier banned broadcast and tweets of post-mortem evidence

• Ruling made after prosecutor said evidence would be 'explicitly graphic'

Oscar Pistorius vomited repeatedly in the dock today as the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem on Reeva Steenkamp gave a graphic account of her injuries.

The Paralympian retched into a bucket numerous times as Professor Gert Saayman gave harrowing testimony about the multiple bullet wounds he admits inflicting on his girlfriend.

Prof Saayman told the court how Miss Steenkamp was struck four times - on the top right of the head, in the right elbow, in the right hip and also in the webbing of her left hand.

Her right upper arm was shattered, the hip wound could well have been fatal, while that to her head would have incapacitated her immediately, he added.

Ammunition used were 'Black Talon' bullets designed to 'expand and mushroom' to cause maximum damage, said.

Physically sick: Oscar Pistorius vomits into a bucket as the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem on Reeva Steenkamp gave a graphic account of her injuries


Inconsolable: In between bouts of sobbing and retching, Pistorius sat with his head bowed, covering his ears with his hands and a white handkerchief in an attempt to block out testimony about the post-mortem

Grief: Pistorius weeps during harrowing testimony about the extent of Miss Steenkamp's injuries

In despair: Oscar Pistorius breaks down in court as he listens to graphic evidence of Reeva Steenkamp's injuries by pathologist who carried out her port-mortem

Strain: The judge had earlier banned live broadcasting and tweeting of evidence by Prof Saayman because of the graphic nature of his evidence

No blood was found in her airways, suggesting she breathed only a few times before dying.

He also described exit wounds caused by the bullets and other abrasions consistent with the impact of a bullet fired through a wooden object such as a door.

Prof Saayman, who referred to photographs that were not shown to the gallery, said Miss Steenkamp had been wearing grey Nike shorts and a sleeveless black vest at the time of the shooting.

He said food found in her stomach suggested she ate within two hours of her death at 3am, which appeared to contradict the athlete's account that the couple went to bed around 10pm.

As the details were read out, the court was forced to adjourn twice as Pistorius broke down, his shoulders visibly shaking.

In between bouts of sobbing and retching, Pistorius sat with his head bowed, covering his ears with his hands and a white handkerchief in an attempt to block out Prof Saayman's testimony.

Overcome with emotion: The athlete buries his head in his hands as Professor Gert Saayman gave harrowing testimony about the multiple bullet wounds he admits inflicting on his girlfriend

Too graphic: The pathologist, Professor Gert Saayman, had argued that 'it goes against the good morals of society for us to make information of this nature available' in a live broadcast

The judge questioned whether he was well enough to stay in court, but his lawyer Barry Roux insisted the athlete wanted the evidence to continue.

After lunch, his vomiting intensified and could be heard through the courtroom, according to reporters present in the trial. Microphones had to be turned down to reduce the noise.

Earlier, Judge Thokozile Masipa had banned live broadcasting and tweeting of evidence by Prof Saayman, head of the forensic medicine department at the University of Pretoria, because of the nature of his evidence.
She announced the ban after prosecutor Gerrie Nel, supported by chief defence lawyer Barry Roux, said Prof Saayman's testimony would have an 'explicitly graphic nature' and should not be shown around the world.

'It's not a question of press freedom,' Mr Nel said.

Distraught: Pistorius admits shooting Miss Steenkamp, but denies murder, arguing that he wrongly believed she was a burglar

Too much to bear: Pistorius covers his head as he listens to details about his girlfriend's death

Deep in thought: Oscar Pistorius studies his notes in the dock at the start of the second week of his trial

Distressing: The prosecutor asked the judge to ban broadcasting of the trial during testimony of the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem because of the 'explicitly graphic nature' of his evidence

Prof Saayman said the 'very personal nature' of his autopsy findings as well as graphic details about the injuries could 'compromise the dignity of the deceased' as well as harm her friends and family, if they are broadcast.

'It goes against the good morals of society for us to make information of this nature available' in a way that children and other unsuspecting people might be exposed, Saayman said in the witness box.

Proceedings can be partly televised and the audio can be broadcast in its entirety under a judge's pre-trial order which sought to balance the right to a fair trial with the intense public interest in the Pistorius case and the principle of open justice.

Under the order, some witnesses can choose not to be shown on television.

Earlier today, Judge Thokozile Masipa extended that order, saying 'private witnesses are more vulnerable than public figures' and that still photographs of witnesses who requested some discretion cannot be published or disseminated for the duration of the trial, even if they were obtained from sources outside the courtroom.

The new ruling followed the publication in a South African media outlet last week of a photo of a witness whose image was lifted from a publicly accessible website.

Pistorius, the first amputee to run in the Olympics, is charged with premeditated murder over Ms Steenkamp's death.

Engaged: Pistorius takes notes as the security guard he spoke to on the night Miss Steenkamp was shot is cross-examined by his lawyer

Claims: Security guard Pieter Baba testified on Friday that he called Pistorius and was told on the telephone that 'everything is fine'

The 27-year-old claims the killing was accidental because he thought his girlfriend was a dangerous intruder in a toilet cubicle in his home.

Before today's adjournment, a security guard who said he spoke with Pistorius soon after the shooting on Valentine's Day last year was questioned by the defence about his recollection of the sequence of events that night.

The sequence is important for the defence because, if it can prove that Pistorius called security first, it could support the contention that he was seeking help as quickly as possible.

The guard, Pieter Baba, had recalled a conversation with the double-amputee runner, who killed Ms Steenkamp in his home in the early hours of February 14 2013.

Mr Baba testified on Friday that he called Pistorius and was told on the telephone that 'everything is fine'.

He said Pistorius called him back moments later, did not speak and was crying, and the second call then ended.

Support: Pistorius's brother carl (second left) and sister Aimee (centre) listen to evidence

Investigating officer Vineshkumar Moonoo listens to evidence during day six of the Paralympian's murder trial

Witness: Security guard Pieter Baba testified that he called Pistorius minutes after the shooting and was told on the telephone that 'everything is fine'

Mr Baba said he was responding to neighbours' reports of gunshots coming from Pistorius's home after 3am. He drove with a fellow guard to Pistorius's villa and made the call from outside the house.

Mr Baba's statement that he called Pistorius first could back the prosecution's case that the killing was premeditated, and that Pistorius was trying, at least initially, to conceal what he had done.

Today, however, Mr Roux said call records showed that Pistorius called security first, but could not speak because he was 'indeed crying'.

'I'm the one who called him first,' Mr Baba insisted.

'His call was first and your call was second,' countered Mr Roux, saying he had documents, including one from the police, which showed his assertion to be true.

In the spotlight: The Paralympian makes his way through a media scrum on his way into the court in Pretoria

Accused: The athlete is escorted by security to his trial in which he denies murdering Reeva Steenkamp


Defence: Pistorius claims he shot Miss Steenkamp by mistake after wrongly believing she was an intruder

'I put proof in front of you that Mr Pistorius called first,' Mr Roux said. He said Pistorius had called before the guards went to his house.

'If Mr Pistorius called me first, then I would have known that something was wrong at his house,' Mr Baba replied, repeating his version.

On Friday, his ex-girlfriend told the court about an occasion when Pistorius shot through a car sunroof at a traffic light after a confrontation with police.

The Olympian was furious after an officer took his Glock pistol and emptied its chamber after the car – in which Pistorius was a passenger – was pulled over for speeding, the court heard.

Samantha Taylor, a model who was also a passenger in the car, said the police had spotted his gun lying on the car seat and told him it ‘couldn’t just stay there’.

She added: ‘Oscar got angry.  He shouted at the policeman because he was not allowed to touch his gun.’

After the confrontation with officers was over, the car pulled away and Pistorius re-loaded  the weapon, letting off a shot through the sunroof around 15 minutes later.

The driver of the car was Darren Fresco – the friend pressured by Pistorius to take the blame in another shooting incident that was relayed to the court earlier in the week.

Miss Taylor told Pretoria High Court that the double amputee carried a gun ‘all the time’ during their relationship, which began when she was 17.

He kept one under his bed and on the floor with his prosthetic legs at night, she added.

Miss Taylor painted a picture of a man who was frequently angry, raised his voice, kept multiple mobile phones and was unfaithful.

Scene shot: A TV monitor shows a picture of the street where Oscar Pistorius lives

The defence: Advocate Barry Roux and one of his legal team, Roxanne Adams, arrive at court for the hearing

The witness wept repeatedly as she described their turbulent romance, which began in 2011 and ‘ended when he cheated on me with Reeva Steenkamp’ – the girlfriend he is alleged to have shot on Valentine’s Day last year.

Her evidence about the shooting incident in the car relates to firearm offences that Pistorius has denied, which are in addition to the murder charge he is facing.

Miss Taylor described another incident in which Pistorius had brandished a gun to threaten the driver of a car that he believed was following them home.

‘When we arrived at his estate, he jumped out of the car with his gun and held it to someone’s window and then they drove away,’ she said.

During cross examination, the double amputee’s lawyer, Barry Roux, put it to Miss Taylor that Pistorius could sound like a woman when he raised his voice in anxiety.

She disagreed and told the court that she had heard the athlete shout at her ‘sister, best friend, another friend, and his best friend’ and ‘he never sounded like a woman’.
The trial continues.

Couple: Pistorius with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg around three weeks before he shot her. He says they were deeply in love

Scene: Pistorius shot Miss Steenkamp through the bathroom door at his home (above) in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year