The biggest sport related scandal this week for once has not been related to doping . The death of Reeva Steenkamp and the bail hearing of Oscar ‘Bladerunner’ Pistorius has captivated not only sports fans but also the wider public. What about the forensic evidence?
The tragic events of Valentines day have led today to the bail of Oscar Pistorius. There has been a massive interest from media in the trail, apparently with journalists almost coming to blows over who would get into the court house. The prosecution laid out their evidence and it seemed pretty damming. The evidence showed that the couple had argued, Pistorius had put on his prosthetic legs, found his gun and shot his girlfriend Steenkamp multiple times through the toilet door where she hid from him. He then failed to phone emergency services to try and save her. They also alleged that multiple vials of testosterone were found with needles in the house.
At this point it all looked bad for Mr Pistorius. He had sworn that he did not have his prosthetics on at the time of the shooting. He shot into the bathroom not knowing who was in there fearing the worst in a country with a very high level of violent crime. That was indeed the reason he possessed a firearm.
Then the prosecution seemed to fall apart a little. There was actually no evidence presented to suggest that the shots were fired from a height that required OP to be wearing his prosthetics. This meant that his version of the story may be correct. The drug described by the prosecution was called ‘Testis Compositim’, a herbal remedy, not Testosterone as suggested. The officer in charge (OIC) again agreed this could be the case – he hadn’t fully read the label. The lack of phone call may be because the OIC had not submitted a request to the correct telecom company or had not asked for the correct phone detail.
When I was asked what forensic evidence was likely to be key to this case I suggested:
Crime scene examiners – what evidence can be collected from the scene. Can we determine the sequence of events?
Ballistics – the angles and distance from which the gun was fired.
Blood pattern analysis – where was the victim when shot and where was the shooter in relation to the victim? The sequence of events may also be evident from this.
Pathology – what were the injuries that caused death?
Toxicology – did the victim have any drugs or alcohol on board? In the UK and NZ this would be routinely carried out in such a case to determine whether the victim had been under the influence of such substances. If possible I would suggest testing the alleged perpetrator also.
Now it seems a drugs analyst is also required. Is the drug within the vials found testosterone (a controlled substance and also banned in sport) or is it the supposed herbal remedy ‘Testis Compositim’? This herbal remedy is said to be used for sports performance enhancement and also by males for performance enhancement of other kinds!
The details of these tests are all still required. In the UK a bail hearing would not explore the forensic evidence in such a way and it would be very unlikely to get all witness statements together within a week of the offence.
Lets hope by the time of the trail (next schedule is June) the evidence has been properly evaluated and there is some good science behind it. Until then we really have not seen any evidence to judge the case on.
Forensic science will play a big part in this case – let’s hope it is done correctly and to a standard our profession can feel proud of.
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All excellent points and very succinctly put. It raises questions that even I as a crime fiction author rather than a crime expert like yourself would ask. I look forward to reading more on this as the case continues.
Thanks Pauline. I look forward to seeing all of the forensic evidence presented in court. I’m sure it’ll bring up a whole new lot of questions.
I must read a DI Horton book to see how he handles evidence gathering and investigations!
Tom
There was a mention in the BBC coverage of a 7 year backlog in toxicology testing in the South African court system!
7 years? I hadn’t seen that, will try and look into it thanks.
We had a turn around of 6 weeks for the most complex cases – only going over that in really sticky ones were we needed new standards or equipment to complete! However, I am fairly sure this case will be given a high priority.
That’s very interesting Dr B. What do you think the chances are of us getting to the truth of what happened that night? Do you think even if the forensic evidence is presented perfectly in court the appropriate verdict will be reached?
Pauline, I’m a crime fiction addict, and haven’t read any of yours yet. I definitely will, I’m always on the look out for new books!
The legal system is very different there, with a single judge sitting on the case rather than a jury. This will mean that it will be up to how the judge interprets the evidence put before them. I don’t think the forensic evidence is likely to be able to put an answer to the question of intent or premeditation so it will be up to the judge to weigh up the implications of the actions that can be verified. So no, I am not sure we will ever learn the whole truth of the matter!
Thanks for the thoughts.
I don’t know if the Prosecution will have invalidated any of their ‘evidence’ by tramping through the crime scene without protective footwear. This contempt for forensics could be their downfall if they then try and rely on evidence-based science to win their case…
It does sound like the initial forensic investigation was a bit lacking unfortunately. If true that there was evidence missed by the initial search and lack of control of evidence then yes that may well have an effect on the case later. Again it is a very different system so I will be watching with interest to see how it works in practice.