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| Oscar Pistorius Trial to Resume on May 5 | Oscar Pistorius Trial to Resume on May 5 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — The trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, adjourned on Thursday until May 5 after the prosecution requested time out to deal with other cases. | PRETORIA, South Africa — The trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, adjourned on Thursday until May 5 after the prosecution requested time out to deal with other cases. |
| Before testimony began on the trial’s 25th day, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa offered an unusual admonition to people following the trial on a real-time television link from an adjacent courtroom, saying she had received reports that they were behaving in an unruly manner — “jumping on benches, cheering and doing what they like” — and that they should desist. | Before testimony began on the trial’s 25th day, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa offered an unusual admonition to people following the trial on a real-time television link from an adjacent courtroom, saying she had received reports that they were behaving in an unruly manner — “jumping on benches, cheering and doing what they like” — and that they should desist. |
| “It is not an entertainment place,” Judge Masipa said, “It is not a picnic nest.” If the spectators did not abide by the usual courtroom standards, she said, “security will ensure that they leave.” | “It is not an entertainment place,” Judge Masipa said, “It is not a picnic nest.” If the spectators did not abide by the usual courtroom standards, she said, “security will ensure that they leave.” |
| The final session before the four-day Easter break, which is widely observed in South Africa, was devoted to testimony by Roger Dixon, a forensic witness for the defense who has acknowledged under cross-examination that he has no expertise in areas such as ballistics. | The final session before the four-day Easter break, which is widely observed in South Africa, was devoted to testimony by Roger Dixon, a forensic witness for the defense who has acknowledged under cross-examination that he has no expertise in areas such as ballistics. |
| His testimony is important because it challenges the prosecution’s depiction of the four shots Mr. Pistorius, 27, fired through a locked toilet-cubicle door at his home in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, believing — by his account — that at least one intruder was inside. Instead, the hollow-point rounds killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29. | |
| Mr. Dixon, whose credentials and integrity have been challenged in aggressive questioning by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, has produced sound recordings intended to demonstrate similarities between gunshots and the sound of Mr. Pistorius beating down the cubicle door with a cricket bat after the shooting. | Mr. Dixon, whose credentials and integrity have been challenged in aggressive questioning by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, has produced sound recordings intended to demonstrate similarities between gunshots and the sound of Mr. Pistorius beating down the cubicle door with a cricket bat after the shooting. |
| Mr. Dixon has also testified that the shooting may have left its victim in a different position than the prosecution has said. | Mr. Dixon has also testified that the shooting may have left its victim in a different position than the prosecution has said. |
| The details reflect a fundamental dispute between the defense and the prosecution over the circumstances of the shooting, which Mr. Nel maintains followed an argument while Mr. Pistorius has called the killing a mistake and an accident. | The details reflect a fundamental dispute between the defense and the prosecution over the circumstances of the shooting, which Mr. Nel maintains followed an argument while Mr. Pistorius has called the killing a mistake and an accident. |