A social worker who visited Pistorius in a police cell the day after he fatally shot his girlfriend testified on Thursday.
The Washington Post saysYvette van Schalkwyk told the court she observed an "emotionally devastated" Pistorius last year who was grieving for Steenkamp and seemed concerned for her parents.
"I saw a heartbroken man," van Schalkwyksaid. "He cried 80 percent of the time. He talked to me about what they planned for the future, his future with her."
Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel objected to van Schalkwyk’s testimony on the grounds that it was not relevant to the charges laid out against Pistorius. Judge Thokozile Masipaallowed van Schalkwyk to proceed.
The defense also called an anesthetist to the stand Thursday to validate Pistorius' account of events on the night he shot Steenkamp.Professor Aina Christina Lundgren provided the court with her expertise on how long it takes a person to digest food after eating.
Associated Press writers Christopher Torchia and Gerald Imrayhe say the testimony relates to an autopsy report on Steenkamp's body that said she still had food in her stomach after she was killed by Pistorius.
This report led prosecutors to challenge the double-amputee's story that the couple last ate around eight hours before he shot Steenkamp through his bathroom door on Valentine's Day of 2013.Nel claims Pistorius intentionally shot his girlfriend after a heated argument.
Pathologist Gert Saayman, whotestified for the prosecution, told the court that a person's stomach is typically empty of food "six hours after eating." Therefore, he concluded Steenkamp ate much later on the night of the shooting and "not in line" with the Olympic sprinter's account.
Lundgren affirms there are several factors that could have delayed the digestion process in Steenkamp to explain the food found in her stomach, including that she was a "pre-menopausal woman and had been sleeping."
Defense attorney Barry Roux said he will call between 14 to 17 witnesses throughout the duration of the trial.
The trial isexpected to last into mid-May before Judge Thokozile Masipa makes a decision.If convicted, Pistorius faces 25 years in jail.
Written byNicole Bennett
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