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THE PROSECUTION WRAPPED up its case against Oscar Pistorius this week, with attempts to portray him as a scary, temperamental lover.
The athlete’s defence team were due to begin their case yesterday but it didn’t play out as expected.
Here are some of things we heard, learned and saw this week:
The South African public were expecting to hear from Pistorius himself on Friday but plans to put him on the stand were stalled due to an unforeseen event.
One of Judge Thokozile Masipa’s two assistants fell ill, leading to the early adjournment. Proceedings will restart on 7 April.
Before Masipa told the High Court in Pretoria that it could not proceed as “one of my assessors is not well”.
The South African court does not use a jury – just one main judge and two assessors. Majority rules on points of fact which need to be made.
The trial, which began on 3 March, will now go on well past the initial three weeks that were set aside for it.
About 1,709 messages between the pair sent over WhatsApp were discussed in much detail on Monday. A police investigator revealed a number of texts and, although he noted that about 90 per cent of the messages were warm and loving, there were some that caught the attention.
In one, Steenkamp said: “I’m scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and of how you will react to me.”
Eyewitness News reporter Barry Bateman tweeted screenshots of two of the messages. The first is from Steenkamp, sent on 26 January last year.
(Source: Twitter/ Barry Bateman)
Steenkamp’s message suggests that Pistorius got angry with her for "flirting" with another man at a party, and she says she feels like she’s living in a "double standard relationship".
She also tells Pistorius that he has "picked on [her] incessantly" and complains about things like how she talks and chews gum.
Pistorius’ apologetic response is below:
(Source: Twitter/ Barry Bateman)
In another text Steenkamp sent on 7 February, she tells Pistorius that she was hoping to make him proud in a certain social situation, but he criticised her loudly.
Bullish defence lawyer Barry Roux explained away the disagreement, noting it had been sorted by email and showed CCTV footage of the couple kissing while shopping.
Much of the evidence for the prosecutors lies in whether or not neighbours heard a woman screaming in terror - or if it was Pistorius screaming (like a woman) in the aftermath of discovering he had shot his girlfriend.
Anette Stipp, an occupational therapist who can see Pistorius’s house from her bed, testified that she heard "terrifying screams" by a woman.
I couldn’t make out what she was screaming, it was just screams, very terrified screaming."
She said the screams came after three gunshots in rapid succession. Minutes later, she heard three more shots, she said.
She told the court that both sets of shots sounded the same.
"I could still hear the scream up until the second set of shots,” Stipp said. “I could also hear a man screaming."
The neighbour said she was 100 per cent certain it was a woman screaming.
Despite her testimony, both the prosecution and defence agree that Pistorius only fired four bullets. Roux explained that Pistorius bashed in the door with a cricket bat when he realised it was his girlfriend in the bathroom.
Arguably South Africa's second most famous man (after Nelson Mandela), it is hardly surprising that the trial has received huge attention.
It has its own 24-hour channel, dedicated to coverage of the hearings, with almost 200,000 viewers at peak times.
It is also a well-followed conversation on Twitter. Dozens of reporters inside the Pretoria courtroom are tweeting their way through proceedings. Since 3 March, more than 400,000 tweets have been sent in relation to the trial, according to Topsy Labs reports.
In just two minutes on March 24, contributors dispatched 50 Twitter messages with the hashtag #OscarPistorius, which were delivered to 1.2 million accounts when retweets are included, estimates Tweetreach.com, a researcher in San Francisco.
“The very striking thing is how much debate there is about every aspect of the trial and its implications, almost immediately” on Twitter, said Anton Harber, a journalism professor at Johannesburg’s University of The Witwatersrand. “The whole media ecology is changing.”
Even the 24-hour TV channel dedicated to Pistorius is taking cues from Twitter. At 6 p.m. every weekday, the channel features an hour-long program called Social Media Analysis that looks at tweets and Facebook posts by reporters and the general public. The show encourages viewers to send questions to anchor Emma Sadleir using the hashtag #AskEmma.
“Do you think Roux looks up all the social media posts and then gets new ideas for the case #AskEmma?” Armando Loureiro of Johannesburg tweeted to Sadleir. “Why did he not plead temporary insanity?” asked another.
As we said above, State lawyer Gerrie Nel has done all he can and the prosecution has rested. Here's a brief summary of the case he has presented:
With reporting from Bloomberg and Business Insider
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Meh.
A watch that you have to charge daily ?
Just not practical. Why bother when you have your phone with you.
Which, depending on usage, you may have to charge daily.
I’m not convinced by any of these smart watches. What’s wrong with a “Thick as two short planks” watch? Stick a battery in, last couple years, and it tells the time.
That’s why you never but first generation of a new product. I’ll consider the third or fourth version
Better still, buy an automatic mechanical watch and you’ll never have to get a battery for it. And it’s kinda cooler when you think of this little engine running on your wrist.
Or a solar powered version , mine works great and automatically corrects its self each night with wave receptor. I expect it to our live me.
I just don’t get smart watches. I wouldn’t want to charge my watch every day. Not only that, but I prefer a normal watch. It’s more stylish!
I picked up a Samsung Gear fit last year for 100 quid when upgrading my phone. I wasn’t convinced when I got it but I have to say, I really like it now.
I’ve to charge it every 4 days or so overnight, which isn’t a hassle and nowadays, with the notifications that appear on screen I never take my phone from my pocket unless it’s something I need to reply to. Also, I hadn’t worn a watch in years and paying 100 for a watch doesn’t seem foolish.
It’s worth noting most of what I’ve said said above does not apply for the Apple watch…
Brave. Lol. Anti-Apple troll with very weak argument! You just could not resist…
If you say so, but I’m replying from my iPhone 5S while my 2011 MacBook Pro is beside me so your point is invalid, pal.
I can’t see myself buying one of these gadgets.
Is it just me or do all the straps look hideous?
It’s just you. Soz.
I was thinking the opposite, Neal.
I’m not a fan of rubber straps (stoppit!) but I think the colourful ones look good. The cheaper versions look better than the metal ones. It’s not a great looking watch at all though. I think some of the other smart watch offerings from other companies are streets ahead.
That said I still wouldn’t buy one. I’d never remember to charge the f’ing thing!
It looks more Fisher Price than Apple.
I’ll stick with my Breitling thank you very much!
Breitling is probably one watch brand which is even more vulgar that the Apple Watch, truth be told.
I like most of their styles, A few of the over the top ones are tacky.
The best way to have a jab at someone wearing a Breitling watch is to look at them assumingly and say, ‘Oh cool, so do you own your own plane or have a fractional lease?
Very good!
I find them far too blingy. Most of the bracelets are polished which just screams! I kind of like the Superocean though, but only on the “chain-link” type strap. The Navitimer is a bit of an horological masterpiece, but it’s too big for me.
Personally I love mechanical watches, I have several from different companies. I don’t see anything vulgar about them. But each to their own I guess!
I love mechanical watches too David, just not Breitlings. That was my point. I have some great automatics which I love and wouldn’t swap for an Apple Watch in a million years.
I agree about the bracelets on most of their models. I have the Navitimer 01 on black leather strap. I love it. I don’t think I’d ever buy the Apple watch, I prefer the old fashioned mechanical ones.
Probably because they are nothing special . Maybe the apple fanatics are finally copping on. There are much better looking / more functional smart watches out there .
Where can I buy the gold watch for 1200 euro ? I see a killing to be made.
Arrived this morning at 7am.
Don’t know what they’re saying there’s major fanfare everywhere and on all the social media sites here.
Though I do have to laugh… I wanted to try the fitness application because I’m concerned about my weight. Maybe try going to the gym then instead of spending two days outside the Apple Store.
You could also buy a weighing scales and weigh yourself after a brisk walk each day. Worked for people way before apple thought of this genius idea.
1 day battery life on a watch… haha funny that! Apple have said it needs to be re-charged nightly.
iRubbish for iFools.
iShutup
Ok hang on a second. This whole fitness thing. If i buy an Apple Watch and go for a run do i need to bring my iPhone with me? If so then whats the fuppin point father!!
And today’s Father Ted comment comes from…..
Pointless. But then, I had a manager 15 years my senior call me ‘old school’ for wearing a watch recently (instead of using my phone as a clock).
My watch charges itself on the kinetic energy of my moving arm. Why would I want a want a watch that needs to be plugged in every night? To show me the notifications I’m missing on my phone?
I stay in hotels at least once a week on average, 95% of which don’t have a plug near the bed. This would spend more time out of power than in power for me.
Smart phones are really just trying to force a gadget revolution where one isn’t needed. If I’m going to have wearable tech then I expect it to do something a little more, and at least convert my motion into energy.
I do own a GPS watch, but its for running, and doesn’t need to be any ‘smart’er than it is.
The gloss has been taken off Apple Down Under following revelations 2 weeks ago before a Senate Inquiry
the Apple Australasia is a subsidiary of Apple Ireland and that Apple uses the “Double Irish” to aggressively
minimise its Aussie tax. And by the look of it, Ireland’s reputation also took a body blow.
Apple is on the nose in Aus since a Senate Inquiry Down Under 2 weeks ago revealed that Apple may
not be a good corporate citizen-taxpayer due to a complicated supply arrangements via Ireland which
permits it to aggressively minimise its Australian tax. This has stunned many loyal Apple users down here.
They don’t mention that in order for the watch to work – you have to have the expensive iPhone also to connect it too.
Thanks but no thanks. 70%+ of Apples stuff comes from their genuine rival Samsung. Google it of you think this is false.
If I want something expensive in my life, I would (if I had rock in the head) vote for FG and Labour again in 2016 – not buy this over-priced stuff.
People complaining about having to charge it every day seem to be oblivious to the fact that watches and clocks used to have to be wound up every day.
have your say