Oscar Pistorius murder trial: Expert doubts neighbours could have heard screams

The 27-year-old athlete is accused of murdering model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year

10:29 am

Van Zyl also says the athlete planned to take his girlfriend to an opera concert.

During this part of the evidence Pistorius sat with his head in his hands.

The athlete's manager also says the London 2012 Olympic Games were about two people - Usain Bolt and Pistorius.

10:21 am

Mr van Zyl recalls the moment Pistorius asked him to tell Ms Steenkamp that she was to accompany the pair to two competitions.

One was in Brazil and another in Manchester.

Pistorius was on a video call to his model girlfriend and passed the phone to Mr van Zyl to pass on the 'good news'.

Mr Roux asks Mr van Zyl what Ms Steenkamp's reaction was like.

He replied: "She was very exited and ecstatic at the opportunity to take the trip with us to different competitions."

10:15 am

Mr Van Zyl says Pistorius had never requested for previous girlfriends to accompany him on trips before Ms Steenkamp.

He reads from an email with an event organiser for a trip to Manchester.

The athlete asked for an additional ticket for Steenkamp to accompany Pistorius.

10:08 am

Pistorius' manager is asked about the athlete's relationship with Reeva Steenkamp.

He says they were in a 'loving and caring relationship' and that they called each other pet names.

Mr Van Zyl says the athlete asked for him to arrange for Steenkamp to accompany him a couple of trips.

He wanted her to see his world.

10:05 am

Mr van Zyl is asked about Pistorius' aggression.

He says there are just two examples he can think of during his time working with him when he lost his temper.

The first was when he was faced with a camera crew at an airport who he claims called him a cheat.

The second was when he was being interviewed by the BBC in London who, claims Mr Van Zyl, said he was an embarrassment to the country.

9:59 am

Mr van Zyl describes Pistorius as having a 'heightened sense of awareness'.

He recalls a story about the athlete driving the pair to the airport very fast.

The manager would tell the athlete that there is no rush. But Pistorius told him he was doing it because of a fear of car-jacking after Van Zyl was hijacked in 2007.

9:54 am

The court is back and new witness has taken to the stand.

It is Peet van Zyl - the athlete's manager.

He tells the court he first met Pistorius in 2004.

9:47 am

Lin has now finished giving evidence.

Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux asks for a three minute break ahead of the next witness.

9:46 am

The court resumes and Nel again raises the point that four witnesses said they heard a woman's scream on the night Steenkamp died.

Lin said before the break he could not be certain that they heard a woman's screams.

But he admits when pushed by Nel that he is "not saying they are lying".

9:36 am

Pistorius can be seen in court this morning greeting a wellwisher.

The 27-year-old gave the woman a big hug.

Getty

South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius greets a wellwisher during his murder trial in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, on July 1, 2014

 

We will be back with coverage from court once the trial resumes.

9:28 am

The prosecutor has now asked for a ten-minute adjournment.

The judge agrees and the court breaks.

9:27 am

Nel is keen on making this point.

He tells Lin: "Four witnesses heard screams by a woman. That must be reliable even for a scientist?".

Lin says those four people would have heard a sound but it is not for him to interpret that they heard.

9:23 am

Nel tells Lin that he does not make a finding with the ability to tell the difference between a male and female scream at the neighbourhood.

He says the prosecution has four people who identified a woman's scream with no exception on the night Steenkamp died.

"Everybody identified it as a woman's voice", says Nel.

9:19 am

The evidence is getting extremely technical.

Nel is examining factors which can affect how sound travels.

This includes factors such as sealed windows.

9:14 am

The court is now looking at pictures of the neighbourhood where Pistorius lived when Steenkamp died.

Lin visited the area last week to compile his report.

Nel tells the court that new homes have been built since the model died.

9:09 am

Lin completed a report at the end of last week on sound levels from the house on the night Steenkamp died.

Nel goes back to his point that if the sound expert had applied the 5db it would have significantly affected his findings.

He points to his report and says: "It would have made a big difference in your graph."

9:05 am

Nel is beginning to get his teeth into Lin.

The prosecutor is quoting the South African national standard on the measurement and rating of environmental noise which says a noise of tonal character would add 5db.

Lin says this is not applicable in this case because the standards deal with sound pollution.

But Nel is still pushing him on the issue.

8:59 am

This is Pistorius arriving at court this morning.

It is day 35 of his murder trial.

Yesterday was the first day back in court following a month's break.

 

8:56 am

Nel asks Lin if when a woman screams, there is a certain pitch and tonal character.

After some reluctance to answer the question, the sound expert replies that a woman has a higher pitched voice than a man.

8:50 am

Nel is asking what the sound level would be for a 9mm pistol being fired into the bathroom.

He asks if it would be about 160db.

Lin replies: "It is not a question one can answer with absolute certainty."

8:44 am

Lin did agree, however, that through common sense you may be able to tell a female scream from a male.

The prosecution claims on the night of her death, Steemkamp screamed because she was in fear for her life.

8:41 am

Lin is asked about our ability to differentiate between a male and female scream.

Nel asks: "Your view is that you would not think it is possible to be able to identify a male and female scream."

He replies: "One cannot be absolutely certain."

8:35 am

The trial is now underway.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel is quizzing acoustics expert Ivan Lin.

Lin tells the court of different scenarios he recreated of the sound sources from the house on the night Steemkamp died.

8:26 am

The trial resumed yesterday after a month's pause after the judge agreed the athlete should be assessed by a panel of psychiatrists.

A defence witness had told the court Pistorius suffers from Generalised Anxiety Disorder.

The judge decided she wanted a panel of experts to determine whether this would have affected his ability to determine right from wrong at the time of the shooting.

However, after 30 days of assessment, the panel of experts concluded that Pistorius was not mentally ill at the time of the shooting.

You can read the five key things we learned from yesterday's case here.

7:51 am

Good morning and welcome to our live blog where we will be covering the trial of Oscar Pistorius.

The Paralympian denies the murder of former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius, 27, shot the model through the bathroom door of his house in Pretoria.

He insists the killing was a tragic accident when he mistook Reeva for an intruder.

However, prosecutors say it was murder.

His trial is due to start within the next forty minutes.

Will will bring you all the latest updates here.