She said it “makes sense” that the screaming heard by neighbours was Pistorius and not Steenkamp.
The evidence of neighbours is “fallible” and some – such as that of Michelle Burger and her husband Charl Johnson – should be rejected entirely.
Masipa accepts the defence timetable that shots were fired at around 3.12am, meaning screams heard after this time could not have been those of the victim. The sounds heard at 3.17am were the cricket bat breaking the door, as the defence maintained.
But she says that Pistorius’ evidence that if he had wanted to kill the perceived intruder, he would have fired higher is “inconsistent with someone who shot without thinking”.
Defence claims that police tampered with the scene “pale into insignificance” in the face of other evidence.
WhatsApp messages between the couple “prove nothing” for either side.
Evidence from Steenkamp’s stomach contents that she ate later than Pistorius claimed is “inconclusive” and in any case does not help the state’s case.
Masipa says that Pistorius genuinely – though wrongly – thought his life, and that of Steenkamp, were in danger.
“There is nothing in the evidence to suggest this belief was not honestly obtained. The accused is the only person who can say what his state of mind was at the time he fired the shots that killed the deceased. The accused has not admitted that he had the intention to shoot and kill the deceased or any other person. On the contrary, he stated he had no intention to shoot or kill the deceased.”
Masipa is still to rule on the lesser charge of culpable homicide and could acquit Pistorius if she believes he shot her by mistake.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp at his home on 14 February 2013 when he fired a gun through the closed door of his toilet. He had told the court he thought he was shooting at an intruder.
http://www.nigerianheadlines.com/oscar-pistorius-judge-says-athlete-not-guilty-murder/
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