PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am dipping into this very well publicized trial from time to time when it touches on issues of interest to our readers such as defence allegations of evidence tampering and contamination of the crime scene.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
STORY: "Oscar Pistorius' lawyer challenges forensic expert; claims tampering with the evidences," published by India.com on March 13, 2014.
GIST: "The forensic analyst who examined the cricket bat used by Paralympian Oscar Pistorius to break down the toilet door after shooting Reeva Steenkamp was challenged by the defence over the fact that there are strong signs that the evidence was handled incorrectly. The State’s weakest moments in the trial of Pistorius were shown on Wednesday as forensic analyst Colonel Johannes Vermeulen, who specialises in materials analysis, testified. According to News24, Pistorius’s lead defence advocate Barry Roux challenged Vermeulen over two points - he did not gather the evidence properly when he visited the scene of the shooting in March 2013 and that it was tampered with after it was taken into police custody."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.india.com/sports/oscar-pistorius-lawyer-challenges-forensic-expert-claims-tampering-with-the-evidences-22768/
See related MSN story: "The colonel's testimony has also focused on a cricket bat that Pistorius said he used to break through the toilet door to get to Steenkamp after, according to his account, realizing his mistake. On Wednesday, Vermeulen knelt and swung the bat to show how he believed Pistorius struck the door from a low angle, indicating he was on his stumps at the time. Roux insisted Pistorius was wearing his prosthetic legs, saying the bat marks on the door were low because he swung with a bent back. The back-and-forth over whether Pistorius, the first amputee to run at the Olympics, was on his prosthetic limbs or not is important because it could match parts of his story that he accidentally shot Steenkamp, or expose inconsistencies in it."
http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/oscar-pistorius-murder-trial-forensic-analyst-cross-examined
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
