Pistorius blow as star pathologist refuses to testify at murder trial
High-profile forensic expert hired by athlete for murder trial defence says he will not take stand
A star pathologist hired by Oscar Pistorius said yesterday he would not testify at the athlete's murder trial, another blow for his defence after a week of savage cross examination.
Private forensic pathologist Reggie Perumal - who joined Pistorius' hand-picked team soon after Reeva Steenkamp was killed on Valentine's Day last year - will not take the stand, amid suggestions his post-mortem findings support key parts of the prosecution's case.
Perumal has appeared in many high-profile cases in South Africa, where a private pathologist can cost upwards of US$2,000 a day. He was hired by Pistorius in time to attend the model's autopsy.
When asked if he would testify, the Durban-based pathologist said: "No, ma'am. I think you're aware that I can't say anything right now."
Perumal's absence from the witness box casts further doubt on the believability of Pistorius' story, after a week which saw the Paralympic star and one of his hired experts torn to shreds by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
Yesterday, Nel hammered defence expert Roger Dixon, a forensic geologist who testified on key elements of the Pistorius crime scene, including the order of the bullets that hit Steenkamp.
Nel, a legal veteran known as the "Pit Bull", derided the quality of the expert's testimony, accusing him of "misleading" the court. "I am not trying to mislead the court," said Dixon.