Trial Discussion Thread #16

[Cherwell]

Another point that makes zero sense.

Killer claims he puts on legs and then kicks door, failing to break it down, then goes and gets the cricket bat.

Really? He's an Olympic athlete. A rugby player.

Does anybody really believe he couldn't have broken down the door without the bat? Or that he would try kicking it once, then give up and run back to get the bat?

And it looks like he had no problem kicking in the bedroom door.

No, and he punched a panel out of his front door which fell out and injured Cassidy whatshername.

 

[Bazinga]

I so agree about leaving her , He was only interested in saving himself from the fallout and repercussions .
He may try and blame the police for contaminating the crime scene but it is direct testimony from an independent witness that he left Reeva side .
I also think it is unbelievable how many people had access to that crime scene before Reeva was even moved out of the house His brother,sister ,estate manager and daughter as well as Oldwage .

It was literally like Piccadilly Circus !!!

Yes, I have this awful image of Stander, Clarice, Oldwage, OP there walking around Reeva's dead and mutilated body not frozen with horror but getting on with the task at hand and still with OP's interests foremost in their minds. :facepalm:

 

[Cherwell]

Read this linguistic statement analysis if you want to hear a take on what Pistorius affidavit might mean, it's worth it if anyone's interested in the construction of language and psychology:

About the light, its particularly funny. Obviously it notes that having the lights off doesn't make sense if Pistorius is terrified because most common, safe and usual response is to turn on a light and to get rid of the dark.

But in this analysis they add in a psychological tenet about mentioning the turning on and off of lights as possibly related to sexual dysfunction. Made me *lol*

Bail affidavit lines 17, 31, 36

http://www.linguisticstatementanalysis.com/SOTM/Pistorius.pdf

That's very interesting indeed!

(The only bit I have an issue with is where he queries her locking the loo door. As we have seen, plenty of people habitually lock the loo door.)

 

[anagrammy]

Not all murderers shoot loved ones in the head.

When OP had a chance to see clearly and take aim, he went straight for the head. Shooting at the heart would have been just as effective, if not more so, to bring about a quick death, and the chest is a bigger target, not so easy to miss if a person is dodging about.

I think this cold, calculated killer shot her in the head deliberately to obliterate the evidence that he had previously hit her in the head with the bat. We all know the scalp bleeds profusely and imagine her running from him with blood running into her hair. Every time she turned her head, it would splatter.

She had to die and her head had to be destroyed for his preposterous mistaken identity story to exonerate him and save his brand.

 

[Gbtaketwo]

A lot of his affidavit has peculiar phrasing when you really look at it. Also, where did he think the 'intruder' was going to go once he'd been issued with his marching orders? Out through the window? He didn't give the 'intruder' time to 'get out of my house' before he shot the 'intruder' dead.

Here's an interesting animation of how it happened (using his affidavit as the guide).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECRsvp9P0I

Thanks
I did see that YouTube clip and the first thing I noticed was the fetching in of the fan ,that is realistically all it would have taken to get that large fan from the small balcony which is why I have never been able to believe that part of his statement as there was not enough time for Reeva to have got up without him seeing or hearing her . He may have had a couple more steps than that video shows but that is still not enough time IMO
Unless of course she was teleported
I also believe that some of the things he states he said and did are more likely to be to cover tracks because he could not know what the neighbours might have heard .

 

[Duchy]

Might be a stretch BUT might the bin liners/bags have been used for the purpose of suffocation to ensure finality of death?? Just pondering . . .

Easy enough to quickly transfer them over a wound for the cessation of bleeding, when visitors suddenly arrived??

OMG! what a thought!

or could be
putting the body in before putting in car?

 

[soozieqtips]

Read this linguistic statement analysis if you want to hear a take on what Pistorius affidavit might mean, it's worth it if anyone's interested in the construction of language and psychology:

About the light, its particularly funny. Obviously it notes that having the lights off doesn't make sense if Pistorius is terrified because most common, safe and usual response is to turn on a light and to get rid of the dark.

But in this analysis they add in a psychological tenet about mentioning the turning on and off of lights as possibly related to sexual dysfunction. Made me *lol*

Bail affidavit lines 17, 31, 36

http://www.linguisticstatementanalysis.com/SOTM/Pistorius.pdf

I read that the first time you posted it, and found it really interesting, but I just read it again after you re-posted the link. I'm curious to know how Nel will approach all this seeing as it was OP's initial account of what happened... and he had five days to get it all down. I always thought that the "We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier, and I know Reeva felt the same way" was kind of defensive, and sounded so odd coming right after "My prosthetic legs were off"!

 

[BritsKate]

I would have switched a light on before moving anywhere - then again I wouldn't dream of picking up a gun and firing 4 shots through a door.

OP's gonna have to answer that one.

The flip side of that coin, and what defense will probably suggest is...

Would a couple to row for an hour in total darkness?

If injuries were inflicted to Reeva in that room would that have been done in total darkness?

Reeva isn't argumentative as we hear quite regularly so can we imagine she rowed for an hour?

Why OP didn't switch the light on is an issue that deals primarily with his state of mind at the time, but it doesn't help me much in narrowing down what happened that morning.

Now, if a close neighbor could confirm the bedroom light was on at any time between 2.00am and 3.00am, that would blow OP's statement right out of the water.

If her preferred method of conflict resolution was to leave and she was prevented from doing so, then what was her alternative but to argue? She was locked in someone else's bedroom, in someone else's house, with no escape route.

 

[soozieqtips]

Thanks
I did see that YouTube clip and the first thing I noticed was the fetching in of the fan ,that is realistically all it would have taken to get that large fan from the small balcony which is why I have never been able to believe that part of his statement as there was not enough time for Reeva to have got up without him seeing or hearing her . He may have had a couple more steps than that video shows but that is still not enough time IMO
Unless of course she was teleported
I also believe that some of the things he states he said and did are more likely to be to cover tracks because he could not know what the neighbours might have heard .

BBM - I know. It didn't take more than a few seconds. Reeva would still have been on her way to the toilet when he charged down the hall, unless she was running from him.

 

[Gbtaketwo]

BBM - I know. It didn't take more than a few seconds. Reeva would still have been on her way to the toilet when he charged down the hall, unless she was running from him.

Yes exactly . When I suddenly saw the size of the balcony on the floor plans it was a bit of a game changer for me .

 

[Really?]

I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed.
I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.
It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.
I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

Notice how he shout's for Reeva to call the police twice, but strangely he only notices she isn't responding the 2nd time he shout's it, hmmmmm.

Kinda like a bad Hollywood script........B movie.....yawn.

 

[nastasya]

Thanks
I did see that YouTube clip and the first thing I noticed was the fetching in of the fan ,that is realistically all it would have taken to get that large fan from the small balcony which is why I have never been able to believe that part of his statement as there was not enough time for Reeva to have got up without him seeing or hearing her . He may have had a couple more steps than that video shows but that is still not enough time IMO
Unless of course she was teleported
I also believe that some of the things he states he said and did are more likely to be to cover tracks because he could not know what the neighbours might have heard .

Watching the video again.... the weirdest part?

Pistorius broke the bathroom door with a cricket bat, then found a key on the floor.

WTH?

This is so improbable that the video glosses over it and shows the animated figure simply reach down and pick up a key from floor in front of him, not inside the bathroom.

So he breaks the door, sees her dead body, doesn't recoil in horror or scream, and stops his attack on the door to suddenly look on the floor for a key.

Wow... very calm reaction for somebody in a state of terror who just discovered his girlfriend with her brains blown out.

This is looking like he locked her in the bathroom then shot her because she wouldn't stop screaming, imo. Why else is the key on the outside of the door?

So killer's story is Reeva gets up to pee, takes the key, and locks herself in the bathroom in the dark.

Not even O.J.'s jury would believe this.

 

[curiousjo]

Yes exactly . When I suddenly saw the size of the balcony on the floor plans it was a bit of a game changer for me .

I haven't noted size of porch - do you know off hand, or have the floor plan? I take it that its small?

If it was hot and the AC was broken, why wouldn't the curtains be open with fans inside/or adjacent to balcony blowing air inside that night?

 

[DebinGA]

I haven't noted size of porch - do you know off hand, or have the floor plan? I take it that its small?

If it was hot and the AC was broken, why wouldn't the curtains be open with fans inside that night?

http://media.2oceansvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/balcony-floorplan.jpg

 

[curiousjo]

http://media.2oceansvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/balcony-floorplan.jpg

Thanks! Wow, a very small balcony. All OP had to do was open curtains and reach for a fan - that took a couple seconds. Not long enough for R to walk the walk to the bathroom without him noticing. I hope Nel points that out, or has judge go to crime scene to see for herself. That is another game changer. His story is falling apart. Its a real shame this happened.

 

[seattlechiquita]

"I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house"

That has always struck me as very peculiar phrasing.

and even more... IF he screamed "hey, robbers, get out of my house", and RS was in the loo, she would have said "OP, don't be paranoid dude,I'm in here". IF she did (which she would have IF his story was true), then OP knew he was shooting at Reeva in the bathroom.

 

[Really?]

Watching the video again.... the weirdest part?

Pistorius broke the bathroom door with a cricket bat, then found a key on the floor.

WTH?

This is so improbable that the video glosses over it and shows the animated figure simply reach down and pick up a key from floor in front of him, not inside the bathroom.

So he breaks the door, sees her dead body, doesn't recoil in horror or scream, and stops his attack on the door to suddenly look on the floor for a key.

Wow... very calm reaction for somebody in a state of terror who just discovered his girlfriend with her brains blown out.

This is looking like he locked her in the bathroom then shot her because she wouldn't stop screaming, imo. Why else is the key on the outside of the door?

So killer's story is Reeva gets up to pee, takes the key, and locks herself in the bathroom in the dark.

Not even O.J.'s jury would believe this.

BBM"

oooooooooo......geesh.....ya think?.....that does sound likely....I never thought of that....but dayum.....that might fit.....IYKWIM. yikes

 

[Really?]

and even more... IF he screamed "hey, robbers, get out of my house", and RS was in the loo, she would have said "OP, don't be paranoid dude,I'm in here". IF she did (which she would have IF his story was true), then OP knew he was shooting at Reeva in the bathroom.

That pretty much sums it up, moo.

 

[Really?]

OMG! what a thought!

or could be
putting the body in before putting in car?

I'm sorry but that made me.....:scared:

 

[Bazinga]

I would have switched a light on before moving anywhere - then again I wouldn't dream of picking up a gun and firing 4 shots through a door.

OP's gonna have to answer that one.

The flip side of that coin, and what defense will probably suggest is...

Would a couple to row for an hour in total darkness?

If injuries were inflicted to Reeva in that room would that have been done in total darkness?

Reeva isn't argumentative as we hear quite regularly so can we imagine she rowed for an hour?

Why OP didn't switch the light on is an issue that deals primarily with his state of mind at the time, but it doesn't help me much in narrowing down what happened that morning.

Now, if a close neighbor could confirm the bedroom light was on at any time between 2.00am and 3.00am, that would blow OP's statement right out of the water.

BIB
This got me thinking!
What do I want OP to answer?
A question to everyone on the board - What one question do you want Nel to ask OP when OP is on the stand?
I'm going to have a think about my one question, don't want to waste it!
What question would clarify or confirm something for you?
What question would give you a sense of him lying or being truthful in his answer?
Let's come up with some really good questions and I'll forward them to Nel over the week end.