A senior South African police ballistics expert has revealed facts about the final moments of model Reeva Steenkamp as the court sought to establish whether Paralympian Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend intentionally.
After the testimony, the court adjourned until Monday as prosecutors asked for extra time to consult with their final witnesses before closing their case against the Blade Runner.
According to News.com.au, Captain Chris Mangena testified that Steenkamp was first hit in the hip and was in a defensive position in the toilet of Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria when the athlete's last shot hit her head in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
Mangena also said that the evidence pointed to the shots having been fired from a position greater than 23 inches away from the toilet door but no further than 3 metres.
Mangena further said that Steenkamp then fell backwards before being hit in the arm and the head by the last two bullets fired by Pistorius through the wooden door as she crossed both hands over her head to protect herself, adding that there had been a short break between the first and second shots and that the second bullet missed Steenkamp.
Mangena also said that after the third and fourth shots, Steenkamp 'ended up with her head on top of the toilet seat, and the lower part of her body on a magazine rack
Pistorius sat with his head in his hands, while Steenkamp's mother and relatives in the public gallery lowered their heads when graphic images of the blood-splattered bathroom were shown, the report added.