(CNN) -- Prosecutor Gerrie Nel went on the attack again Thursday, trying to discredit a defense witness for Oscar Pistorius on the last day of testimony before the court takes a two-and-a-half week break.
Forensics expert Roger
Dixon, on the stand for a third day, was grilled over his interpretation
of a reconstruction of the scene where double-amputee runner Pistorius
killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February last year.
One key line of questioning dealt with the position of a magazine rack within the toilet room where she was shot.
Under pressure from Nel,
Dixon directly contradicted Pistorius' version of where he saw the
magazine rack when he entered the toilet room after shooting Steenkamp.
Is that a cricket bat or gunshot?
Reeva's last words to Oscar: I love you
In his own testimony,
Pistorius said that when Steenkamp was slumped over the toilet bowl, she
wasn't on top of the magazine rack. He said it was off to the side. Nel
then showed him a photo of the toilet with the magazine rack standing
in a pool of blood -- and Pistorius said it must have been placed there.
Dixon directly contradicted this in his testimony Thursday, saying the rack was moved after it was in the pool of blood.
The question is important
in part because Pistorius contends that police contaminated the crime
scene by moving certain key items, including the magazine rack.
Pistorius also told the
court he opened fire after hearing the sound of movement within the
toilet room, which made him believe the door was opening. In retrospect,
he concluded that what he heard was the magazine rack moving.
In his questioning
Thursday, Nel also tried to cast doubt on Dixon's analysis of a mark on
the toilet door that the expert says was made by Pistorius kicking it
with his prosthesis, and about the expert's ballistics reconstruction.
Bullet ricochet
Nel's aim in the murder
trial is to prove that Pistorius intentionally shot and killed Steenkamp
after a heated argument in the early hours of Valentine's Day last
year.
The defense team is
seeking to cast doubt on that account and prove that the star sprinter
shot his girlfriend through the closed toilet door after mistaking her
for an intruder.
In his testimony Wednesday, Dixon disputed a conclusion by a pathologist on the cause of Steenkamp's back wounds.
The pathologist said
they were made by a bullet ricochet, while Dixon said they were made by
the magazine rack. The autopsy said they were made by a blunt, hard
object.
Pistorius cross-examination highlights
Pistorius: 'Not sure' who is to blame
Gerrie 'The Bull Dog' Nel on the attack
Following Dixon's testimony, the court in Pretoria, South Africa, was adjourned until May 5.
When the court
reconvenes, the next defense witness will be Johan Stander, manager of
the Silver Woods Estate where Pistorius lived and the first person the
athlete called after he shot Steenkamp.
Gripping trial
The trial is scheduled
to continue until the middle of May. Judge Thokozile Masipa will decide
the verdict in collaboration with two experts called assessors. South
Africa does not have jury trials.
If Pistorius is found guilty of premeditated murder, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
The trial has gripped
South Africa and sports fans worldwide who considered Pistorius a symbol
of triumph over physical adversity.
His disabled lower legs
were amputated when he was a baby, but he went on to achieve global fame
as the "Blade Runner," winning numerous Paralympic gold medals on the
carbon-fiber blades fitted to his prostheses. He also competed against
able-bodied runners at the Olympics.
Only those in the
courtroom saw Pistorius on the stand, because he chose not to testify on
camera. His testimony could be heard in an audio feed.
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