PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius lawyers tried to roll back the
prosecutions momentum at his murder trial Wednesday following the star athletes
shaky testimony, presenting a forensic expert who quickly found his own
credentials and findings sharply questioned.
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Pistorius now back watching the proceedings from a wooden bench, the
double-amputee Olympians defence team was attempting to bolster his account that
he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake through a toilet door in his home,
thinking she was a dangerous intruder about to attack him in the night.
Pistorius faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder
in Steenkamps death in the early hours of Valentines Day last year. But former
police officer Roger Dixon, testifying for the defence, also appeared unsteady
as chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel warned him that it was irresponsible to "try and
be an expert" in areas he was not. Nel asserted in his cross-examination that
Dixon was not an expert in light, sound, ballistics, gunshot wounds or pathology
-- all areas about which he was testifying. Dixon worked at the police forensic
laboratory in Pretoria until he left the force in December 2012. He was a
specialist in analyzing materials at crime scenes. He now works in the geology
department at the University of Pretoria. Nel also accused him of not answering
questions directly. "For an expert you are evasive," Nel said, prompting the
judge at one point to tell the energetic prosecutor to "restrain" himself.
Earlier, the judge ruled that proceedings will adjourn for more than two weeks
after Thursday because a member of the prosecution team has another case to
attend to. The trial will resume on May 5. During the cross-examination, Nel
showed that Dixons findings regarding Steenkamps gunshot wounds came from
analysis of autopsy photos and from a pathologists report because he was not
present at the autopsy. He also hadnt read parts of the pathology report, Nel
charged. The prosecutor also criticized Dixon for not bringing photographs and
his written reports with him and abruptly told him to bring them on Thursday. "I
said I will," Dixon snapped back. "Good," Nel responded. Nel ridiculed Dixons
finding about the sequence of the shots that Pistorius fired at Steenkamp
through the door, testimony which contradicted that of a police ballistics
expert and state pathologist Prof. Gert Saayman. "I use the word finding very
loosely," Nel said wryly of Dixons theory. Questioned by defence lawyer Barry
Roux, Dixon said he believed Steenkamp was hit in the hip and the arm in quick
succession by the first two of four shots while she was standing close to the
toilet door. Raising his right arm in the courtroom, Dixon indicated he believed
Steenkamp may have had her right arm extended and maybe her hand on the door
handle, as if she was about to open the door through which she was shot. The
defence was using his testimony to try to cast doubt on the prosecutions account
that Steenkamp fled to the toilet and was hiding there during a fight with
Pistorius. Nel has said that the runner intentionally shot Steenkamp through the
door as she faced him and while they were arguing. Nel mocked what he said was a
suggestion by Dixon that Steenkamp was knocked backward by one of the bullets.
"Its something you see on TV," Nel said dismissively, challenging the expert to
find scientific literature that showed it was possible. Nel also pounced on
Dixons concession that an audio test that the defence conducted to compare the
sounds of gunshots to those of a cricket bat hitting a wood door -- which both
happened on the night of the killing -- had to be done a second time because of
problems with the first. He even asked him if he was an expert at swinging a
cricket bat, a cutting reference to his hitting a bat on a wood door in the
defences audio tests at a gun range. Dixon had also said he took part in the
audio tests that showed the sounds of gunshots and of a cricket bat hitting a
wood door were similar and could be confused. That is important because several
neighbours have testified that they heard Steenkamp scream before shots on the
fatal night, backing the prosecutions case that there was a fight before
Pistorius shot his girlfriend with his 9 mm pistol. Pistorius defence says the
witnesses are mistaking the sequence and they heard Pistorius screaming in a
high-pitched voice for help before breaking the toilet door open with his bat to
get to Steenkamp. When played by Pistorius lawyers in courts, the two noises
were similar. But questioned by Nel, Dixon said the tests had to be repeated and
that they were recorded and edited by a music producer who had no experience in
recording gunshots. "I have no idea on the expertise of the person who recorded
the sounds," Dixon said.
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home over Betis was overshadowed by a railing collapse that left dozens of fans
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because hes not comfortable facing a room of reporters, but more likely its
because hes all business when it comes to turning around the floundering CFL
club. And that wont be an easy task.SOCHI, Russia – Jeff Carter has played
alongside the likes of Peter Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Rick Nash, Daniel Briere,
and Anze Kopitar, but not one of them stacks up to Drew Doughty in one key
department. "Hes probably the most skilled guy Ive ever played with and Ive
played with some pretty good players," Carter said after a close 2-1 overtime
win against Finland. "When his confidence is going [and] hes feeling good about
himself he can do anything out there. Its pretty amazing to watch." Doughty
scored both Canadian goals – including the upset-preventing overtime winner –
late Sunday evening, lifting his country to top spot in Group-B and a berth in
the quarterfinals. On a grand Olympic stage that features the highest caliber of
talent this game has to offer, the 24-year-old from London, Ontario stands out
as one of the very best. "I forget about everything thats going on around me and
Im just focused in on that game and having fun," he said. Third in tournament
scoring after the preliminary round, Doughty leads Canada with four goals –
including one in each of the three games – and five points, totaling nearly 20
minutes of ice-time against the Finns. No apparent fear or uncertainty seems to
exist on his part, no matter the venue. Doughty is willing to force the action
and assert himself on centre-stage, if and when the moment presents itself. This
was clear again in overtime at Bolshoy Ice Dome when he deposited a Carter feed
beyond the pads of the nearly-unbeatable Tuukka Rask. It was perhaps most
emphatic during the 2010 Olympics when he proved a revelation as a 20-year-old
for the gold-medal winning Canadian squad. "Confidence," said Carter in a word.
"When you put all his skill with that confidence its pretty amazing." And maybe
his personality has something to do with that no-fear persona on the biggest
stages, which also included a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Doughtys defence partner here in Sochi, describes him as
"pretty loose" and "funny". A teammate for two-plus seasons with the Kings,
Carter agrees, calling him "one of a kind for sure", always with "a smile on his
face, bouncing around, laughing, having a good time." Those easy-going
quualities seem to translate to the ice.
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not scared to try and make plays too and I think thats what make him such a
dynamic player." Doughty carries a cool about him on the ice that makes every
one of his movements seem controlled and purposeful, almost as if nothing else
out there matters in the scheme of what he has to offer the game. His passes are
crisp and on the tape. His daring rushes look as though they were designed
beforehand, each stride, angle and movement carefully calculated. His instincts
with the puck make it seem as if he is just a step ahead of what lies next.
"Thats what Drew does," said Carter of Doughty, the No. 2 overall pick from the
2008 draft, who is logging 26 minutes per game for the Kings this season. "He
does it all year for us [in Los Angeles] and probably doesnt get as much
recognition as he should because of the time zone and what not." Doughty doesnt
look nor appear nervous on this stage, but says he was four years ago in
Vancouver during that first Olympic stint. But the nerves that bubbled there
were not for the reasons one might think. It had nothing to do with the pressure
of bidding for gold on home soil, but was more about his youthful place on a
veteran roster that featured aging stars and future Hall-of-Famers like
Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. "I was just a little young guy there, had
so many older guys around me that I didnt know whatsoever," he said. "I was
nervous mostly because of that, not because of the fans and the pressure and the
country and all that, it was just meeting all these All-Star players." If not
leaning on Niedermayer and Pronger for wisdom, Doughty made sure to stash other
hints for success. "Just watching them thats all I had to do," he said. "And I
learned so many things just watching those guys play and it helped me out for
this one for sure." Doughty looks like hes just having fun, like the intensity
of all that lays around him has no bearing. Facing a large horde of media after
his overtime winner he stepped toward a microphone and began to speak only to be
reminded that he needed to actually speak into the microphone. Cool and jovial,
he responded with a sarcastic crack, "I actually gotta talk into the
microphone?"
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