Trial Discussion Thread #27 - 14.04.16, Day 24

[Freya1977]

Roger Dixon gets a job as a scarecrow but at the end of the day all the crops have been eaten, "what happened Roger"? said the farmer, "Sorry i'm not an expert in this field".

I laughed out loud

 

[minor4th]

You're an attorney.

Could you explain why you feel that a layman, who is presenting 'evidence' under oath, and who is going way beyond his field of expertise... is not significant? How can you say you don't understand why it matters?

Well that's part of what I didn't understand - why they were talking about things that he was clearly not qualified to give expert opinion about

ETA: And I don't understand why it matters about the bruise

 

[Giles]

Today, I actually felt a little sorry for OP. Seeing him looking on as his expert witness was getting a mauling by Nel. What must he be thinking?

 

[shane13]

He said they couldn't get the black ones so they had to use the same ones but with the brass jacket, then he reversed it and said yes they did get black tallon. I'm confused :/

Def Oscar-Speak.

One could hardly tell if he really got BT bullets. Or if they were used in the tests.

And obv. they are different from the similar ones (Rangers) he got. He even cited the difference, but then tried to claim they were nearly identical.

Very Oscar-Speak to me.

 

[DebinGA]

There's good people in SA.
Not everyone is willing to sell their 'soul" for Rand.

Reggie Perumal attended the post mortem for the defense, but apparently he supported Dr. Saayman's findings. Jan Botha ended up agreeing with Saayman too on the important things. Dixon's hip bruise testimony was reputation-destroying imo.

 

[jay-jay]

Normally I don't post tweets like the one I'm going to...but we've discussed it before. Everyone's reactions, including those of Reeva herself, in treating Oscar like a little boy are just so bizarre to me. I get he probably needs consoling - I'd be hiding under Masipa's robes - but I just don't get treating him like a toddler with a scraped knee. Little wonder he continues to deflect any responsibility. (Not blaming his family at all - it just seems Oscar is surrounded by people who treat him much younger than he actually is.)

Aislinn Laing @Simmoa Pistorius sitting in the dock, his head resting childlike on his aunt's bag as she strokes his hair and neck. #OscarPistorius

https://twitter.com/Simmoa

Wha??? .. oh for heaven's sake ..

 

[Cherwell]

Normally I don't post tweets like the one I'm going to...but we've discussed it before. Everyone's reactions, including those of Reeva herself, in treating Oscar like a little boy are just so bizarre to me. I get he probably needs consoling - I'd be hiding under Masipa's robes - but I just don't get treating him like a toddler with a scraped knee. Little wonder he continues to deflect any responsibility. (Not blaming his family at all - it just seems Oscar is surrounded by people who treat him much younger than he actually is.)

Aislinn Laing @Simmoa Pistorius sitting in the dock, his head resting childlike on his aunt's bag as she strokes his hair and neck. #OscarPistorius

https://twitter.com/Simmoa

Pass the bucket, please.

 

[DebinGA]

Today, I actually felt a little sorry for OP. Seeing him looking on as his expert witness was getting a mauling by Nel. What must he be thinking?

Where's my Glock?

 

[Freya1977]

Def Oscar-Speak.

One could hardly tell if he really got BT bullets. Or if they were used in the tests.

And obv. they are different from the similar ones (Rangers) he got. He even cited the difference, but then tried to claim they were nearly identical.

Very Oscar-Speak to me.

The guy is fluent!

 

[BritsKate]

someone on previous thread brought up a really good point about the key. I am not sure if I have this rigth but is OPs story that he reached in the hole and just happened to see the key on the floor that just happened to be within reach where he could retrive key and then open the door.

The odds of that happening is incredible. If she was holding the key and got shot the odds of the key falling to where he could reach it through that hole in door just seems fantastically coincidental. Unless he had a flashligth and the angle of the hole was such that he could even spot the key is also fantastic.

Me thinks Oscar went to retrieve his other key after he couldnt bash down the door.
OR maybe just reach around and open the door handle through the hole. Dont most doors open from the inside without a key even if locked with a key from outside. Most pop the lock by turning the knob.

Keyed interior doors seem common in my part of the UK - no push button like stateside. Ours can be locked by key and only unlocked by key. It kinda creeped me out when I moved here, thinking someone could lock me in. Our locks are completely separate from the handle of the door.

I think the key was locked in with her and possibly knocked loose when he was bashing the door...if he's telling the truth about it being on the floor. How he morphed into Plasticman to retrieve the key from the floor is still a mystery to me though.

 

[Apollo]

Today, I actually felt a little sorry for OP. Seeing him looking on as his expert witness was getting a mauling by Nel. What must he be thinking?

He was probably thinking 'better him than me'.

 

[soozieqtips]

Pass the bucket, please.

Get in line!

 

[Carol70]

I don't really understand all of this or why it matters

I imagine today was very embarrassing testimony however, im in agreement, I cant see how it damaged OP defense. Roux just wasted the courts time with bringing this witness to testify imo. Dixon neither sabotaged or defended the case. It actually proved nothing for either side and all it did was give a lot of people some lovely lol's for the day

I'm a little surprised Roux didn't go over this all with Dixon before he took the stand!

 

[Giles]

Molly is indeed correct.

Lt Col Vermeulen not only agreed that the bat hits were after the gunshots, but also demonstrated this is court.

10:31 to 11:40 (transcript link)

Link

Yes, I think this is something that lots of people are overlooking. The gun shots occurred BEFORE the cricket bat strikes. If the two sets of noises correlate with the Stipps sequence of events,then this evidence really confirms the Defense case more so than the Prosections.

The Prosecution will either have to explain what made the noises at 3:05 am. Their case is that they were neither gun shots or a cricket bat striking the bathroom door at that time. Also, they will have to explain why no ear witnesses heard the cricket bat strikes shortly after the gun shots at 3:17 am.

This seems to be the biggest hole in the Prosecutions case. Yet Nel has mentioned he will address these issues, so he obviously has an explanation...

(edited to correct a spelling mistake)

 

[Melanie]

IIRC, they don't make them anymore.

They stopped making them in 1993 I believe, but there are similar brands out there, and you can also find the original ammo here in the States (just search on google). The Speer Gold Dot 124gr and P vs. Federal HST 147gr are said to be most comparable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho5q1Oq7gt4

But, hey, I'm no expert!

Mel

 

[steveml]

Hollow points can vary in sound depending on factors like mass production, and variation in amount of powder used e.g. a box of 10 of a particular make, the sound can vary in each one. In another make, say, a box of 500 can all sound the same.

The bullets can vary in weight, by a very tiny amount. A lay-person and general gun owner would not be able to tell the difference by hearing. It's already been shown that some witnesses cannot recognise the difference between a cricket bat sound and a gunshot sound, therefore I don't think the brand of bullet would discern them very much.

The sound test appears to be a very inconclusive method to draw any conclusions from.

 

[Bazinga]

I put it to myself there's somehow only one bit of cheesecake left now, and I fear if I take a pic for you, that will vanish too.

I really should save it for Mr Z.

Shouldn't I?......

You should eat it otherwise it would appear that you ate almost the whole cheesecake and left just one piece. Better to go with - there was never a cheesecake there at all.
Also I put it to you that
1. It is the cheesecake's fault for not hiding better
2. It is Mr Z's fault (he snoozes, he loses)
3. It is not your fault as it was an involuntary eating action aimed at nothing and the cheesecake was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[kaos]

Can anybody remember where he claimed that none of the bullets missed Reeva?

 

[Hatfield]

Keyed interior doors seem common in my part of the UK - no push button like stateside. Ours can be locked by key and only unlocked by key. It kinda creeped me out when I moved here, thinking someone could lock me in. Our locks are completely separate from the handle of the door.

I think the key was locked in with her and possibly knocked loose when he was bashing the door...if he's telling the truth about it being on the floor. How he morphed into Plasticman to retrieve the key from the floor is still a mystery to me though.

Thank You. This helps me to understand now. I agree he had to be plasticman in order to reach through that hole and that key had to have been almost a perfect fall right in the perfect spot for him to reach it.

The odds are incredible and the prosecuters should have demonstrated this. It would have been really powerful to show that the key had to be in an exact spot in order for anyone to stick their arm through that hole and get to the key.

 

[LaLaw2000]

Pass the bucket, please.

Get in line!