A ballistics expert at Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial spent three hours reconstructing the runner’s fatal shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in cross-examination Friday but called any complete analysis “speculation.”
“What happened behind that door we will never know,” said Wollie Wolmarans, a ballistics expert for the defense and former police officer.
Wolmarans, in his second day of testimony on the 29th day of the trial, discussed in cross-examination the sequence and trajectory of the four bullets that Pistorius fired through a locked bathroom door and killed Steenkamp inside on Valentine’s Day 2013. He also talked about Steenkamp’s position behind the door when the shots were fired in what he believed were quick succession.
Lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel accused Wolmarans of bias in favor of Pistorius during questioning, though Wolmarans’ reconstruction of the shooting included slight differences not only from police investigators but also a small one from Pistorius’ version (the position of a magazine rack in the room).
Pistorius, the first double amputee to run in the Olympics in 2012, said he thought an intruder was locked inside his bathroom when he shot four times through a locked door, hitting and killing Steenkamp inside last year.
He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. If not found guilty of premeditated murder, Pistorius could be convicted of culpable homicide, South Africa’s version of manslaughter for negligent killing.
The trial is scheduled to resume at 3:30 a.m. ET on Monday. The defense is expected to wrap its case by Tuesday.