Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend was standing in a toilet cubicle and facing the closed door when she was hit in the right hip by the first of four hollow point bullets fired by the double-amputee athlete, a police ballistics expert testified today at Pistorius' murder trial.
Reeva Steenkamp then fell back onto a magazine holder in the cubicle and was struck in the right arm and head by the last two shots fired from the 9 mm pistol through the door as she crossed her arms over her head to protect herself, Capt Christiaan Mangena said.
He testified that he believed the second bullet shot missed Steenkamp and ricocheted off a wall inside the cubicle and broke into fragments, which caused bruising on her back.
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Mangena concluded, through his analysis of the shooting scene and wounds on Steenkamp's body from post-mortem photos, that one bullet went through Steenkamp's left hand before penetrating her skull as she held it over her head.
The policeman said he couldn't determine the order of the last two shots.
Pistorius, 27, is charged with premeditated murder in Steenkamp's shooting death on February 14 last year and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He says he shot Steenkamp, 29, by mistake through a locked door in his bathroom because he thought she was a dangerous nighttime intruder in his home.
Pistorius says Steenkamp went to use the toilet during the night without him knowing, but prosecutors maintain he killed her after a loud argument that caused her to possibly flee and hide in the toilet area.
Police ballistics expert Mangena said the bullet that struck Steenkamp's skull broke into two fragments, one of which exited her head and struck the wall behind her. The first shot into the right hip broke Steenkamp's hip bone, Mangena said.
"I'm of the opinion that after this wound was inflicted, my lady, she dropped immediately," Mangena said, addressing the judge in court under questioning from prosecutor Gerrie Nel Steenkamp slumped into a "seated or semi-seated position" on top of a magazine rack in the cubicle, where she was hit another two times.
"She ended up with her head on top of the toilet seat, and the lower part of her body on the rack, Mangena said.
Pistorius fired from a distance of at least 60 centimeters and no further than a wall behind him, about 3 meters away, Mangena said. Mangena also described the impact of the type of bullets in Pistorius' gun, which were designed to cause maximum damage, he said.
"It hits the target, it opens up, it creates six talons, and these talons are sharp," Mangena said. "It cuts through the organs of a human being."
He noted the Black Talon brand of ammunition was often used for self-defense because while it caused significant damage to a human target, it was less likely to penetrate the first target and hit other people.
