Oscar Pistorius Trial Part 8

[Roussette]

here is Number 7.

Well, ok, so looks as though maybe a month there and then time for all parties to read reports?

Guess Roux won't need his last witness either now?

Judge just said no longer than 30 days & that the panel could have access to court record. I she might have said something about no time limit on reports but could very well be wrong because surely they must be ready by 30 June so court can know the way forward?

I notice from twitter that the staff at the hospital have been advised to keep press and photographers out.

I'm pissed off that that needed explicitly stating to press and photographers, though can see why it would do.

The press aren't known for their ethics at the best of times & I suppose because the trial is televised, there may be a feeling that they (the press) have more rights than normal.

This is a piece from a psychologist who trained at Weskoppies

onthecouchwithcarly.com/2014/05/19/so-who-is-really-there-oscar/

that's a really interesting and informative blog Member. Thanks for posting it.

RoadKillBunny
"Even quite a number of people who live in SA or who have family still in SA have come onto these threads (and the ones from when Reeva was killed) and stated that OPs reaction to an intruder was a fairly normal one."

I lived in SA for a few years. I still have lots of friends there and DH has family. This is not a normal reaction to an intruder, especially on a secure gated estate. Most people faced with the possibility of an intruder would press a panic button (there are usually several, some mobile) and move away from the danger. The armed response get there pretty quickly. The one time I used the panic button, six armed men arrived at my house within minutes.

Interesting LadyDisdain and welcome to the thread! And also, his gated estate had only had maybe one or two break ins or intruders in the last 5 years IIRC. If that's the case, I would imagine the Security team would be straight on it like a rat up a drainpipe because they really don't have anything else to do do they -

To take on the intruders yourself seems madness. How did OP know it wasn't a gang?! In some ways I get the flight or fight bit, but there could have been 3 intruders breaking in, and surely getting to safety and alerting Security would seem the totally normal thing to do so I am glad LadyDisdain you have said that.

Having had a break from the trial, having not thought so much about all of this and now catching up on the thread, the more bizarre OP's behaviour seems.

Since we are on the intruder theory today I would like to relay an experience I had this morning. Fist of all my DH is out of town and I am home alone. I live in the country on a hill with a back deck off my television room area with a wall of floor to ceiling windows and sliding glass doors. I was sitting in the television area doing what I am always doing in my free time, revisiting different days of the Oscar Pistorius case when a figure appeared out of the corner of my eye in the glass window. The person was unknown to me and appeared to be a man. I immediately ran to my bedroom and grabbed my shot gun. By the time I got to my bedroom a person started banging on my front door and ringing the doorbell non stop. I was able to get to a bedroom window that overlooks the driveway and front door and discovered it was a lady doing all the banging and knocking on the front door. After a while she got on her phone and was talking to someone for a while. I am not sure where the man was I didn't see him again.The first person I called while they were banging was my husband. I have no idea what I thought he could do 4 hours away but I didn't think about calling anyone else. I thought about going into the garage and out a side door but I didn't know where the man was and I didn't want to leave the window where I could see the lady. After a while they finally left. I can not begin to explain how terrified I was. I am now at a neighbors until my husband gets home. I have thought about what I would have done if instead I heard a noise inside my house. When confronted with them or me in the house it is hard to say how I would have reacted.

Mary21 - something struck me about that because it seems a very odd position to sleep in with someone (it's very low down on the body to rest your head IMO). Also that he seemed so certain of what position he fell asleep in.

However, pondering (speculation alert) it over since it appears that he's a bit shy about his stumps and also that they were prone to being very sore, I wonder he preferred to sleep like that when sharing a bed, so that they wouldn't touch the other person.

upnorth - I hope you are okay after your frightening experience. Did you find out what they wanted? I hope everything is alright now.

I am okay Saker, thanks for asking. I don't have any idea what they wanted. There is a bit of a Meth problem out in the country in isolated areas and there have been break ins in seasonal type homes to steal anything to pawn for drug ingredients. My home did look locked up and like nobody was home as the car was in the garage and all the windows were closed. I am just hoping they have moved on. At least my husband is back home now so I feel better.

Glad to hear you are okay, upnorth. It's interesting though isn't it that even when your DH wasn't there, you wanted to check in with him. I think that is the most difficult part of OP's story to believe, that he didn't check with Reeva that she had heard. You just do, even when you know there is a noise.

I realised that this has dropped off my TIO.

I know we wont have anything new to discuss for the next month as we seem to have covered everything, but I just wanted to mark place.

Just checking in, OP went for his first day of assessment today. It's going to be long 30 days.

Upnorh what a dreadful experience, I hope you are feeling better. I would be beside myself.

Is it possibly 30 days from now? I am away for some of it and just wondering if I will be back when it all goes back to Court...

It is 30 days from 26th May but he gets weekends off. If I remember correctly they are back in court 30th June.

How long is this dragging on for........

Checking in again, want to keep this on my TIO.

What do you mean Kelly?

Springy I mean it seems like such a long time since the trial started. Must be awful for reeva's family. Marking place so I don't miss any updates here.

Thinking about this today, the steenkamps must be so frustrated.

While I think that they must be, I can't imagine how frustrating it would be if he instantly appeals. The thing about the current procedure is that it really did seem as though Judge Masipa wanted to get it right the first time as far as was humanly possible.

Yahoo headline I saw earlier today - about people worrying that others with GAD may have "Oscar syndrome" so be unpredictable, prone to violence, a danger to society, and likewise those with GAD being stigmatised as a result of the trial......

Thing on Radio 4 at the moment about Gerrie Nel. Saying his style of questioning wouldn't be allowed in the UK as he was making assertions about Oscar's motives etc rather than questioning him. I'm sure people can listen on catch up by going to the website.

Speedwell isn't this again down to the fact that we have juries in the UK (who are more likely to be swayed by assertions/emotive language) and in SA they don't?

Just coming on here to post the link Speedwell mentioned
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045z93x

Panda - in short no, their objections are far more nuanced than that.

It's really worth a listen