PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius did not suffer from a mental defect when he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The fallen Olympian returned to court after a month's absence on Monday, after being ordered to undergo a 30-day psychiatric evaluation after one of his defense witnesses claimed he suffered from General Anxiety Disorder.
But on returning to the court, two reports were handed in, and both had the same findings about Pistorius' mental state when he shot Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.
Both the report by a panel of psychiatrists and a separate report by a psychologist said that Pistorius "did not suffer from a mental disorder at the commission of the crimes" and that he knew the difference between right and wrong, making him criminally liable if found guilty.
Further the reports found that he was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act."
It comes as another major blow to the defense case, as it now means that the testimony of Dr. Merryll Vorster, the clinical psychologist called to testify by the defense, can be almost ignored and the prosecution will seek to argue her testimony has no relevance on the case.
Vorster's testimony already backfired on the defense as the State successfully applied to have Pistorius sent to a mental hospital for evaluation, something they would never have wanted.
And now to make matters worse, the findings are likely to strike a blow when it comes to sentencing if Pistorius is found guilty, as his anxiety over crime and the GAD would not be considered in mitigation of sentence.
Nel and defense attorney Roux both accepted the reports, but both did say they wanted to consult over parts of the reports, meaning the psychiatrists and psychologists may well be called to the stand at some points.
The State indicated it would perhaps contest the version of the story given to the psychiatrists on the grounds that it wasn't true.
However, the trial continued as Pistorius' defense continued to call its final witnesses with Dr. Gerald Versfeld - the orthopedic surgeon who amputated Pistorius' legs as a toddler giving evidence about his vulnerability on his stumps.
Versfeld went as far as at one point to call the judge and her two assessors over as he made Pistorius remove the stumps, bending down to hold Pistorius’ leg, while moving the skin on the bottom of the stump around to show that he cannot walk without the aid of prosthesis.
Pistorius had skin transplanted on the stumps after the amputation and the skin has stretched, according to Versfeld, allowing it to move around and therefore undermine any stability he would have on the stumps.
However, under cross-examination by dogged state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, Versfeld admitted that Pistorius would have difficulty turning around and running - as he testified - and even less so with a gun in his hand. Pistorius said he heard an intruder, approached the bathroom and fired four shots, before turning and running out of the bathroom to find Steenkamp.
But in a strange part of the case, the State was ordered by Judge Thokozile Masipa to file an explanation into the whereabouts of a missing extension cord, which the defense says was a crucial part of their case.
The cord came into question when Nel cross-examined Pistorius, and contended that the Olympian could not have moved a fan into the room as he testified as the extension cord was not long enough.
The cord, according to the defense, went missing after police sealed the house. When they requested it, the police said they did not have it, and said it wasn't part of the seized items from the house.
"It worries me," Judge Masipa told the State, "The house was sealed, it can't walk".
Earlier in the case the defense complained that two watches –valued at over $10 000 - went missing on the morning after the shooting as police were busy with the crime scene.
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