Trial Discussion Thread #23 - 14.04.11, Day 21

[zwiebel]

O says the gun was next to the pedestal, he was already in low position and 'I was looking at the passage'.

Then he says he turned around while saying to Reeva to get down. His attention was on the closet, to put himself between harm and Reeva.

 

[jay-jay]

I "said" to Reeva to get down .. didn't use the 'whisper' word.

 

[Freya1977]

.. if you're using your iPad then you need to take the cover off .. I quite often have mine (and associated bits) just chucked down by the side of my bed, and I don't necessarily put the cover back on immediately after using it.

Not the covers I have or have seen.

 

[zwiebel]

N: If you cared about Reeva you would have spoken to Reeva...why didn't you say you spoke to Reeva in your bail appli?

Nel then says O invented discussion with Reeva.

 

[MeeBee]

I don't think Nel's doing well today. The photos were a bit ambiguous and if he's using them to try and prove OP's version couldn't be true, he needed to have that evidence pretty clear.

It's certainly a fair point he's making. But...is it a great one? The defense is claiming the cops were moving things around as they were taking pictures and such and there are photos that seem to show this. So all they're going to say is if other stuff was moved, then why not the jeans?

 

[jay-jay]

I get confused as well but I think there was a point somewhere that he covers them up as he feels embarrassed about them ?

Yes, I remember that being said too .. and I can understand that bit, that makes sense to me.

 

[BritsKate]

Oh please! I've seen defendants sit in the witness box for FAR, FAR longer - anywhere from a week to 3 weeks and they manage to get through it without repeatedly breaking down and causing delays.

Oscar is nothing special. Just another defendant.

Some feel this is all a horrible mistake and excuse his emotional outbursts. Others feel his emotional breakdowns are simply a manipulative ploy. Some think the breakdowns are genuine. Some don't.

I think this was a 3 month old relationship and he testified to her birthday by giving the wrong day. If his outbursts are genuine I don't think it's because he lost the love of his life.

JMO

 

[zwiebel]

O: I thought she was awake and I thought she was next to me.

Nel asks why he didn't see if she was fine and O says he wasn't thinking, was panicking. Nel compares what other couples, Johnson/Stipps did - spoke to each other: 'Did you hear that?'

 

[Carol70]

Flipping SA orange has attracted a bee and now the dog's wrecking my house, chasing it.

ETA: Wasp.

ahh justice!! Foreigners get all the good stuff and we left with the kak!

 

[BritsKate]

His iPad on right

His shirt on right

His legs on right

His ammunition in drawer on right

And wasn't there blood on the left side of the bedroom? Headboard and wall?

 

[zwiebel]

O: I was overcome with fear...I didn't have time to think....I spoke to Reeva told her to get down, call police

N: You never established if she was scared?

O: I never established if she was scared.

 

[beach]

I get that he is distraught. But I think it is more for himself than for Reeva.

Exactly. No doubt he's tired and weary. Heck, Nel is wearing me out with all his jumping around, switching lines of questioning on a whim. It is all by design. There is a method to his madness. Oscar is distraught because he feels out of control & doesn't trust himself not to trip up. It's called effective cross-examination.

 

[jay-jay]

" I was not right next to her .. I was on the other side of the room" ... well, the room is not that big!! .. blimey, it's not a lot bigger than my own bedroom! (I've always been amazed by just how small it is for such an expensive house as that.)

 

[zwiebel]

O: I had no way of defending myself without my prosth legs on, I had to get my firearm...

 

[zwiebel]

N: You could have done lots of other things.

O: I don't agree.

Nel says they could have gone to balcony, his under bed etc...O says his first thoughts were for Reeva. He had to protect Reeva.

 

[BritsKate]

Nel: 'Why would you arm yourself, rush towards the danger, and not be ready to shoot?'

 

[zwiebel]

O: I rushed to the passage...

N: You rushed to passage, then prepared to shoot...

O: No, I wasn't

But O concedes he released safety, in case he needed to protect himself.

 

[04009margaret]

Voice is starting to break again because his version is being tested

 

[MsY]

I get that he is distraught. But I think it is more for himself than for Reeva.

Think its safe to say that he killed her, RS specifically, and it was accidentally as he is saying (as I would like to believe it was as well), that he will be distraught about this entire incident for the remainder of his life.

Also why do most people think he is being self-centered on the stand now when all he is doing is giving HIS version of what happened. There is going to be a lot of 'I' sentences, no point in speaking for someone else.

Him being distraught while being under cross is gonna happen.

 

[zwiebel]

Now O says Nel's talking about 'two different times in the evening'??