Pistorius trial: photos show ‘trail of blood’

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Colonel Schoombie van Rensburg described finding an “emotional” Pistorius when he arrived at his luxury home, and told the court about examining splatters of blood in the house, as photos of blood-stained stairs and walls were shown in court.

South Africa’s most famous athlete covered his eyes and threw up as graphic photos of Reeva Steenkamp’s head and face were shown on screens by mistake earlier in the day, and without any warning.

Members of Steenkamp’s family also gasped, covering their eyes and a former friend left the courtroom soon after graphic images flashed across the screen. Lawyers subsequently said there would be a warning before images were shown and the screen closest to Pistorius was turned off.

Together we followed the trail of blood up the stairs Colonel van Rensburg

He remained pale, but was more composed as Col van Rensburg, former station commander at Boschkop police station, took to the stand and described in detail the course of events on 14 February last year.

The colonel and another officer were the first officers at the scene after receiving a call at around 3.15am, and he described following a “trail of blood” up the stairs.

Police photos of the bedroom and bathroom, including the gun, phones, bullet casings – and blood – were shown in court for the first time on Thursday.

The double amputee runner shot his model and law graduate girlfriend four times at around 3am in the early hours of Valentines Day last year. Prosecutors say the incident was premeditated murder but the double-amputee athlete says it was a terrible accident, and that he shot her through a locked toilet door, believing her to be an intruder. If found guilty of premeditated murder, Pistorius faces 25 years in prison.

#OscarTrial Harrowing day in court for Reeva’s friends in court as we follow the trail of blood to the toilet where Reeva was killed

— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) March 13, 2014

#OscarTrial Hard to look at – pictures of bloodied floor – a cell phone strewn amidst it and a firearm – to the right the cricket bat

— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) March 13, 2014

Read more on the main players in the trial

The scene of the crime

The colonel said that he saw a body in a pool of blood, covered with clothes and towels, when he arrived at the house at 3.55am, and that the accused was in the kitchen. An ambulance was outside and a female paramedic told him that the person they had been sent to help, was already dead on their arrival.

In a tense courtroom on the ninth day of the trial, Col van Rensburg described how he and the paramedics examined the wounds to the body, before he moved to the kitchen and saw Pistorius. He asked him what happened but Pistorius, who was crying, didn’t answer, the court heard.

“In the kitchen, there stood the accused, a white male who was made known to me as Oscar Pistorius,” he said. “He was very emotional at that stage and then I asked him what happened. He didn’t answer. He was in tears.”

The colonel said that he immediately asked for the scene to be secured, before calling forensics, crime scene photographers and medical officers to the scene. He said that a woman – now known to be the daughter of Johan Stander, the manager of the estate – was with Pistorius and comforting him, and that she had told him that Pistorius was taking Steenkamp’s body downstairs when she arrived.

When Detective Hilton Botha arrived at the scene, Col van Rensburg said: “Together we followed the trail of blood up the stairs.”

The court was shown a slideshow of photos from the crime scene and throughout the athlete’s home, starting with blood stains on the stairs, and near the Paralympian’s trophies, before moving upstairs. The court was shown blood stains around the landing and bedroom, before moving into the bathroom where there were splinters of wood and bloodied towels on the floor. A close-up of a 9mm parabellum, ready to fire, was shown along with photos of the mobile phone.

Police forensics challenged

Earlier on Thursday, forensic expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen returned to the stand and was questioned about the bullet holes and marks on the toilet door.

Defence Lawyer Barry Roux challenged the police officer over the way evidence was stored and interpreted (see video above), and asked why he hadn’t noticed marks at the bottom of the door. Mr Roux said they were caused by Pistorius kicking the door with his prosthetic legs.

Col Vermeulen said on Wednesday that Pistorius was on his stumps when he smashed the toilet door with a cricket bat – contradicting Pistorius’s account of what happened, and raising the question of whether the bullets were fired before or after the door was smashed in.

Mr Roux disputed the conclusions drawn by the colonel, and suggested pieces of evidence had been contaminated: he said some of Pistorius’s watches had disappeared, and that fragments of the wooden door had gone missing.

The case continues.