The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius entered its 11th day in on Monday in Pretoria. Police photographer Barend Van Staden showed his photographs and answered questions from the defense and prosecution about his actions as one of the first police to reach the murder scene on Valentines Day 2013. Defence Advocate Barry Roux asked Van Staden questions aimed at highlighting discrepancies between his recollection of events and those of other officers, while Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the contents of his photos and their metadata showed the crime scene had not been tampered with.
The police photographer told the court he arrived at Pistorius' house at 4:50AM and met Warrant Officer Hilton Botha outside. Botha told Van Staden that Pistorius had shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Botha then walked Van Staden through the home, noting the location of Steenkamp's body at the bottom of the stairs, and allowing Van Staden to familiarize himself with the layout of the house without taking any photos.
Van Staden then went to the garage on the first floor where he found Oscar Pistorius. Van Staden explained to Pistorius that he was going to conduct a primer residue test to check Pistorius' hands for residue left after firing a gun. When asked if he had washed his hands, Pistorius said he had, which would wash away most of the primer residue from his hands. Van Staden then took primer residue samples from each of Pistorius' arms, including his hands, and saved them.
Defense Advocate Roux asked Van Staden to get those samples back from the laboratory so they may be presented as evidence. He then questioned Van Staden about the photos he had taken of pistorius in the garage. Pistorius recalled Van Staden taking a large number of photos, but according to Sky News' Alex Crawford, Van Staden only took nine photos of the runner. Those photos, shown in court, depict Pistorius with blood all over his shorts, and prosthetic legs, as well as his left arm. The defense said the presence of blood on the prosthetic legs, as well as unexplained scuff marks, were evidence that Pistorius had indeed been wearing the prosthetics when he broke down the bathroom door. The prosecution had disputed that claim, inviting a forensic expert into court last week to show Pistorius had not been wearing his prosthetics, in a bid to catch the athlete in a lie. That expert's testimony was seen as inconclusive by most reports.
Van Staden then went to take photos of the rest of the house, including in the master bedroom where he found more blood, as well as two boxes labeled "Testis compositum" and "Coenzyme compositum" together with syringes. Pistorius' representatives said the substances were used for muscle recovery, but they are also marketed as sexual potency enhancers.
