Pistorius a ‘suicide risk’, court told

PRETORIA: Paralympian star Oscar Pistorius, on trial over the killing of his girlfriend, is suffering from post-traumatic stress and is a suicide risk, a South African court heard on Wednesday.
The diagnosis was contained in a psychological report read to the court by lawyer Barry Roux, who is defending Pistorius on charges that he deliberately shot and killed model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
“Mr Pistorius has been severely traumatized by the events that took place,” Roux quoted the report as saying.
“He currently suffers from a post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. He is also mourning the loss of Ms Steenkamp.”
Pistorious, 27, had received treatment for his condition and this should continue, the report said.
“Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risks for suicide.” The report was the result of 30 days of court-ordered psychiatric observation of the double-amputee athlete.
Both sides cherry-picked from the report to back up their cases.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel read excerpts which said Pistorius had not suffered any mental illness at the time he shot Steenkamp and could be held “criminally responsible” for his actions.
Roux countered with a section dealing with the prosecution’s contention that Pistorious had a volatile temper.
“No evidence could be found to indicate that Mr.Pistorius has a history of abnormal aggression or explosive violence,” Roux read.
“He does not display the personality characteristics of narcissism and of psychopathy that are mostly associated with men in abusive relationships and have been linked to rage-type murders in intimate relationships.”
Earlier, in a pummelling cross-examination, Nel questioned Pistorius’s manager about the star sprinter’s angry outbursts and turbulent love life, zeroing in on apparent inconsistencies in key parts of his account.
Nel dismissed Pete Van Zyl’s claim that he did not know of Pistorius’s aggressive behavior at past athletic events and personal details about his previous girlfriends. But van Zyl denied trying to protect Pistorious.
“I do not have any future contracts or anything of that sort. Contracts have been terminated,” he said.
Pistorious had in fact had to repay some sponsorship money, he said.
“I don’t stand to gain anything by being biased toward Mr.Pistorius in my testimony,” he said.