Pistorius trial

[lazzikins!]

Well, thank you for your information so far.

[Topcat]

I should imagine a search about this case would throw up a lot of results before it got to TMT!

[Tabitha]

He would have had his blood alcohol level tested I imagine?

[Dáire]

In what ways does he seem distraught?

His reaction at the time of death what you'd expect of someone who'd accidentally killed a loved one (there are articles and accounts out there of him screaming in shock and saying from the beginning, as he called a friend and the paramedics, that he thought she was an intruder, what have I done etc) - and he's cried a lot in court, this time around and last. It doesn't seem to beoverdramatic wailings or anything and tends to be triggered by anything involving Reeva's pain. He doesn't seem to cry when people talk about jail, or his career, but he does when it's about her suffering.

Or he's a good cry-liar and he's always had his intruder story to hand, to give both sides :)

Whether or not a witness heard an argument would be quite damning. Only one of the four has said that so far. The married couple keep using the same phrases ("my wife is more musical") and have been accused of colluding.

[Bastian]

Or, this.

And if he did it in temper, there's no reason he shouldn't be distraught once he'd calmed down.

I've never thought his sorrow was an act.

[smalex]

I didn't know any of that, Daire, so thats interesting, although, as Bast and Tabs point out, no one is claiming hes a psychopathic killer, so his distress seems equally suitable in either context.

[Derek Nimmo]

Or, this.

And if he did it in temper, there's no reason he shouldn't be distraught once he'd calmed down.

Distraught and repentant, and wishing he could take it back. But still having done the deed.

Right, slightly more background - she knows someone who has very strong sporting connections, and the party was an all-day affair at his house on the same day. It will be interesting to see what the blood alchol levels are as and when they're mentioned in court to see how much credence to give this story!

[ParisGal]

Right, slightly more background - she knows someone who has very strong sporting connections, and the party was an all-day affair at his house on the same day. It will be interesting to see what the blood alchol levels are as and when they're mentioned in court to see how much credence to give this story!

To which the police had already been called out.

[Cosmopolitan]

was in the middle of the South African summer, so it doesn't really get properly dark at night

eh? it's not like Sweden, it's only just outside the Tropic of Capricorn and has a pretty set 12 hour night day regardless of season etc and it gets dark about 7:30pm and unless there is a lot of street lighting or was well lit by the moon, it would be plenty dark.

Big, all day parties are also common - with lots of drinking over an extended period of time. Which as we all know heightens emotions.

[Ruby]

I don't think you can ever read anything into people's reactions when something dramatic happens. There just no right or wrong. How he presented emotionally fits with both scenarios.

[Derek Nimmo]

That's what she said Cos, maybe she's lying about being from SA :shifty:

[Bastian]

She's trying to infiltrate and sway the Toitle verdict is wagwan here.

[Cosmopolitan]

That's what she said Cos, maybe she's lying about being from SA :shifty:

Sorry! I doubt it, it just seems a really weird thing to say when everyone who has been there remarks on how quickly the sun goes down (10 mins of dusk max) and how quickly it gets properly dark. There's none of this 2 hours of twilight you get here.

[Derek Nimmo]

No need to apologise! I am just reporting speech / gossip here, I am admittedly very ignorant of most things African, never having set foot in the place :)

[Minkie]

OH, and a woman that Minkie and I knew in another community (an American) was shot dead by her husband (also a chatter) and he claimed self-defense that she had a gun and was trying to kill him. He is now serving time for her murder. I'll find the link.

ETA Gah, I can't remember her name. Maybe Minkie remembers it.

Tonia Amato.

http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_reg ... 423886.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He got 8 years.

[Lily]

In addition to Del's source, I asked an SA friend who said that Reeva Steenkamp went out with a Springbock (sp?) before Pistorious and he thought that that bloke might have texted Reeva or something leading Pistorious to go nuts. He said that people tend to lock themselves in their bedrooms and then their bathrooms so why would the intruder have locked himself in the bathroom. As there is plenty of security in the neighbourhood any normal person would have told the intruder they had a gun and if they came out they'd get shot, and then call security. His sons have both recently acquired pistols and he isn't happy about it but one son caught someone coming in through his window recently hence his decision to protect himself.

He did say that in SA it is still murder to shoot an intruder if your life is not in danger.

[Livilla]

Yes, I was a bit "you what now?" about the not properly dark thing too, Cosmo! Having walked into the end of our bed and stubbed my toe very painfully on a Cape Town summer night I would dispute that :lol:

I too don't find his story implausible. It relies on one misjudged assumption: that his girlfriend was still in bed and so the noises he heard in the bathroom were made by a third party. What happened next is certainly not unprecedented in countries where guns are common and people are fearful.

[Korill]

OH, and a woman that Minkie and I knew in another community (an American) was shot dead by her husband (also a chatter) and he claimed self-defense that she had a gun and was trying to kill him. He is now serving time for her murder. I'll find the link.

ETA Gah, I can't remember her name. Maybe Minkie remembers it.

Tonia Amato.

http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_reg ... 423886.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He got 8 years.

Yes! I'm feel horrible that I forgot her last name. He used to post pictures of himself holding his handguns as well. His defense of "she had PMS" really tells you a lot about him.

[Topcat]

It tells me that he is very perceptive, because most women don't recognise PMS until after the event.

[Faddy]

Yes, sorry : going back to page 4 or so, I see what you mean about how the guns work. There are other bits I did not know about either - such as alcohol intake. Will have to read some more