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South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was shocked during Thursday’s testimony when images of a bloodied Reeva Steenkamp were shown on a projector screen.
It may have only been for a second, but the sight of a bloodied Reeva Steenkamp was enough to make fallen Olympian Oscar Pistorius sick to his stomach.
The unintentional flashing of Steenkamp’s bloodied body came as more than a shock to Pistorius, as he was forced to deal with images of her body on a screen inches from his face, and it was all too much.
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The first sight sent him to tears. As the court clerk desperately searched for a photograph of the bathroom door from the crime scene, the PowerPoint slides flashed past images of the bloodied bathroom to briefly stop on a picture of Steenkamp lying at the bottom of the stairs.
Pistorius broke down sobbing loudly with his head in his hands.
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Minutes later the same scenario was played out while looking for another photo. This time the picture of Steenkamp’s bloodied head — with the blood from the head wound still apparent — flashed before him.
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State prosecutor Gerrie Nel (pictured) took a recess after the image of Steenkamp’s body was seen on a projector screen, which caused Oscar Pistorius to cry and vomit.
He instantly lurched forward uncontrollably, vomiting loudly in the courtroom as the evidence went on.
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The images were unintentional, with courtroom officials and the prosecution taking care not to show graphic images with friends and family of Steenkamp present, but somehow the slip-up brought Pistorius face to face with what he had done.
Thereafter the prosecution took a recess to stop a repeat of the images, removing any sign of Steenkamp’s body before bringing in their next witness, Col. GS van Rensburg, to take them through what police found on the crime scene when they arrived.
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Van Rensburg took the court through a night when he and his team had apprehended criminals for an armed robbery. Having briefly returned to the Boschkop police station and being on duty for 24 hours straight, the call came in from the Pistorius shooting.
With his resources stretched, Van Rensburg and a constable arrived at the scene to find Steenkamp dead at the foot of the stairs of Pistorius’ house, covered with a host of towels and plastic black bags, and an emotional upset Pistorius pacing the kitchen.
Themba Hadebe/AP
The aunt of Oscar Pistorius, Lois Pistorius (left), and an unidentified relative listen during the trial.
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The court was taken through a slideshow that documented a blood trail that went from the lounge to the foot of the stairs, up the stairs and on the railings, ironically with blood splatter above a trophy case of Pistorius’ glories on the track, leading into the bedroom where a duvet lay strewn on the floor next to a pair of denim jeans.
With the balcony window open, the two fans Pistorius refers to in his submission are visible in the pictures while there are pictures of a magazine of bullets lying on the bed. Interestingly there is also a holster for the gun lying on the left-hand side of the bed — the side that Steenkamp was sleeping the night of the shooting.
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The court was shown the entrance to the bedroom, where a black air gun lay next to a small baseball bat. An open case with eight wrist watches — watches the defense claimed earlier have been missing since the incident — with a blood stain on the upper case of the box stood at the entrance on top of hi-fi speakers.
The court was taken through a step-by-step tour of the house, with prosecutors taking great lengths to point out the blood splatter and cartridges they found on the scene.
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ALET PRETORIUS/AFP/Getty Images
Pistorius sobbed and vomited after pictures of his dead girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, were seen in court. The photos were not supposed to have been shown.
The court was also shown that the key to the broken bathroom door was in the lock on the outside.
Earlier the defense tried to get forensic expert Col. Johannes Vermeulen to reveal why he didn’t test the bathroom door for traces of the prosthetic foot that they say Pistorius put on to try and kick the bathroom door down.
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The defense used a photograph of Pistorius’ blood-stained prosthetic legs, clothed with socks from the night to show he had them on when he broke down the door.
The prosecution contends Pistorius was on his stumps when he swung the cricket bat to try and break down the door. The defense disputes this and points to a mark on the door to say Pistorius kicked the door before getting the bat and had his legs on.
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Pistorius is on trial for the murder of his model girlfriend Steenkamp following the shooting in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, with prosecutors saying he flew into a rage and shot her behind a locked bathroom door as she cowered. Pistorius denies this and says he mistook her for a burglar and that the shooting was accidental.
The case will continue Friday.
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