Pistorius vomits in court upon hearing autopsy results

PRETORIA, South Africa, March 10 (UPI) -- South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, on trial for murder, vomited in the courtroom Monday as the pathologist testified in graphic detail about the post-mortem examination of Pistorius' slain girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Professor Gert Saayman described the effects of the four gunshot wounds to Steenkamp's body. "Black Talon" bullets, designed to "expand and mushroom," were fired from Pistorius' gun through a wooden object (presumably the bathroom door), and struck Steenkamp on the right side of the head, in the right elbow, right hip, and webbing of her left hand.

The bullets shattered her right upper arm, and the shot to her head incapacitated her immediately. The hip wound, Saayman said, could have been fatal. With no blood found in her lungs, Saayman surmised that Steenkamp died after a few breaths.

As Saayman testified, Pistorius vomited repeatedly into a bucket. He openly sobbed, with the Daily Mail reporting his shoulders were shaking. His emotional breakdowns in the courtroom prompted the judge to order a recess twice during the testimony.

Pistorius appeared to be trying to block out Saayman's graphic testimony by placing his hands and a white handkerchief over his ears. The judge suggested he leave the court but Pistorius' attorney insisted he wanted to remain in the courtroom to hear the evidence.

Pistorius, a former Olympian, claims that he accidentally shot his girlfriend when he mistook her for a burglar in the bathroom of his residence on February 14, 2013.

[Daily Mail]