Oscar Pistorius covered his ears and eyes Tuesday as his murder trial was shown pictures of the wounds suffered by his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The 27-year-old athlete bowed his head and held it in his hands as a forensic expert gave evidence about the injuries found on the 29-year-old model’s body after the fatal shooting.
Roger Dixon, a forensic expert and former policeman, told the court that severe bruises on Steenkamp’s back were consistent with her falling against a magazine rack in the toilet where she was shot dead by Pistorius.
Pistorius looked at the floor of the court as Dixon described how splinter wounds on Steenkamp’s body were consistent with the bullets having traveled through the wooden door to the toilet cubicle.
Dixon also blasted police officers who attended the crime scene as “most unprofessional” as the court was shown a footprint on the door that was caused by a detective’s boot.
Earlier Tuesday, Pistorius completed his testimony after seven days in the witness box, including tough cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
Dixon said he conducted light tests in Pistorius' bedroom on a "moonless night" — as he said the night of the shooting was — and they showed it was almost completely dark in the bedroom. Dixon also went back to the house on Monday, he testified, and tested for light again with Pistorius' music system and one of its small blue lights on, which Pistorius testified was the case on the night of the shooting.
"With your back to the light I couldn't see into the darker areas of the room," Dixon said, apparently supporting Pistorius' testimony that he could not see Steenkamp leave the bed to go to the bathroom, and so didn't know it was her in the toilet cubicle.
The defense also played recordings in court from noise tests they conducted at a shooting range on a replica door being hit with a bat and being shot at. The sounds were similar.
Pistorius' team was attempting to reinforce its argument that neighbors who say Steenkamp screamed before the gunshots confused the gunshots with the sounds of Pistorius hitting the door with a cricket bat, and were actually hearing Pistorius scream as he tried to break the door down to help Steenkamp.
The trial continues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
