Oscar Pistorius stood shirtless with blood staining his prosthetic legs and shorts in photos taken shortly after he shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year, in images shown on court screens at his murder trial Friday.
Two photos of Pistorius were shown in the Pretoria, South Africa, courtroom while former South African police colonel Schoombie van Rensburg testified for a second straight day.
The photos were taken by police in Pistorius’ garage, van Rensburg said.
Court shown a photo of #OscarPistorius with blood on his shorts, taken Feb 14th pic.twitter.com/fC1Y17AMW6
— Kate Forbes (@forbeesta) March 14, 2014
Van Rensburg spent Friday describing the early part of the investigation of the shooting. He was one of the first officials to arrive at the scene before dawn on Valentine’s Day 2013.
“I observed [Pistorius] as a suspect at that stage,” after arriving and surveying the scene, van Rensburg said through a translator. “I warned him according to his rights. ... I said to him that I wasn’t arresting him at that stage. ... I requested him to remain present at all times at the scene.”
Another series of photos from Pistorius’ home were shown in court.
Among them were more unintended graphic images of Steenkamp’s body reportedly shown on screens in court for a second straight day. Pistorius threw up and sobbed after seeing similar images Thursday.
Van Rensburg also spoke of one of Pistorius’ collection of watches going missing during the investigation and a gun handled by a policeman without gloves at the crime scene.
Pistorius, the first double amputee to run in the Olympics in 2012, could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. He shot four times through the bathroom door, hitting Steenkamp inside.
The prosecution asserts Pistorius shot through the door after an argument with Steenkamp. Pistorius has said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.
The trial is expected to resume at 3:30 a.m. ET on Monday.
Here’s NBC News’ coverage of the Pistorius trial.
Tweets from Friday’s proceedings:
Gruesome picture shown of toilet filled with blood, blood on seat and sides of bowl. Gasps in court. Pistorius drops head.
— Aislinn Laing (@Simmoa) March 14, 2014
#OscarPistorius Now talking about the watches in OP's bedroom. Some went missing, he says. They are Armani watches
— Gerald Imray (@GeraldImrayAP) March 14, 2014
#OscarPistorius is still a celebrity. School kids wait outside court this afternoon for a glimpse of the accused. pic.twitter.com/JX9sLpN7X3
— andrew harding (@AndrewWJHarding) March 14, 2014
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