The crucial 17 minutes: Pistorius murder trial witness claims there was lengthy gap BETWEEN bursts of gunfire Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281531/Oscar-Pistorius-Murder-trial-witness-claims-lengthy-gap-bursts-gunfire

Oscar Pistorius is spending a seventh night behind bars awaiting a bail verdict amid damning witness claims that a shot was fired from his home followed 17 minutes later by more gunfire.
The dramatic witness evidence was revealed by the prosecution on the second day of the 26-year-old athlete's bail hearing at Pretoria Magistrates' Court where he faces a charge of premeditated murder.
In the lead up to Reeva Steenkamps's death prosecutors say 'non-stop shouting' was heard coming from the luxury gated property in Pretoria between 2am and 3am on the morning on Valentine’s Day.

Hearing: Boxes of 'steroids, testosterone' and needles were found at Oscar Pistorius' home where he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead after 'non-stop' arguing, a court heard today

World scrutiny: The details were revealed by the prosecution on the second day of the 26-year-old athlete's bail hearing at Pretoria Magistrates' Court where he faces a charge of premeditated murder

Claims: Pistorius claimed it was dark when he shot the model, but today police claimed a witness heard gunshots, saw the lights on, heard 'a female screaming' and then more shots

Damning: The first half of the hearing saw damning allegations surface, but after a recess his defence team fired tough questions at the main witness, chief investigative officer Hilton Botha

This afternoon Pistorius looked distraught as the hearing heard a post-mortem showed three entrance wounds - the bullets hit the right side of Miss Steenkamp's head, her right elbow - which resulted in a broken arm - and her hip.

Yesterday the global sporting star said in a sworn affidavit that he mistook Miss Steenkamp for an intruder and shot her through the locked door of a toilet in his mansion home.
He said he thought she was in his bed when he opened fire with a 9mm pistol . ‘I kicked the door open, I tried to help her but she died in my arms,’ he said in his first account of what happened
In the first half of the hearing today shocking allegations surfaced that the police and prosecution believe undermine Pistorius' defence, but after a recess his defence team fired tough questions at the main witness, chief investigative officer Hilton Botha.

Evidence: Lawyers and police studied plans of the bedroom and bathroom as the bail hearing proceeded

Step by step: Pistorius' account of how the events unfolded at his upscale Pretoria home on Valentine's Day

SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL SYSTEM: NO JURY TO DECIDE

As Pistorius spends a seventh night in a jail cell, he will be considering what will happen when the case goes to trial...
When will it be held?
Although South African courts are slow, this case is being played out in front of the worldwide media so it could come to trial within six months.
Where will it be held and who will decide?
It would probably be held in the the high court in Pretoria. It would be heard by a single judge  accompanied by one or more technical experts, typically magistrates or retired magistrates.
Why will be there not a jury?
South Africa abolished the jury system in the 1969 because of racial politics.
There was no hope of black defendants being given a fair trial because only white people were allowed to sit on juries.
Does that mean anything can be reported as a jury can not be biased?
A lack of jury means that the typical media reporting restrictions that would be in place for a jury trial in most legal jurisdictions based on the English common law system do not apply.
In the UK, leaked details of a criminal investigation would be likely to put a publication at risk of being held in contempt of court.
The reasoning is that judges are trained to put aside their prejudices and decide cases on the basis of the evidence before them and the law.
Also unlike juries, they also have to give reasons for their decisions.

As the prosecution began setting out its case this morning, they claimed a witness heard 'two to three' shots, saw lights turn on, and then 17 minutes later heard 'two to three more shots.'
Mr Botha - the first officer on the scene - told the packed court a separate witness also claimed they heard an hour-long fight between 2.am and 3.am before the sound of gunshots rang out.
Earlier Mr Botha said he arrived at the upscale Pretoria house at about 4.15am last Thursday and the 29-year-old model had already been declared dead - 'she had on white shorts and black vest. She was covered in towels.'
Pistorius, who underwent below-the-knee amputations when he was 11 months old, said he shot through the toilet cubicle door while on his stumps but the court heard the bullets' trajectory was through the top of the door.
Mr Botha, who has 16 years' experience as a detective, said he believed the bullets were fired down, suggesting that Pistorius was wearing his prosthetic legs when the shots were discharged.
Lawyers and police studied plans of the bedroom and bathroom - a projector was used to beam the plans up for the public and press to see.
Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor asked Mr Botha if the shots were fired directly at the toilet basin and he agreed.
'If you fire straight at the door, you miss the toilet,' he explained.
Police believe a cricket bat found in the bathroom was used to break down the door to the toilet - part of the door was lying in the bathroom. One bullet cartridge was found outside bathroom while three others were inside.
On the shower mat in the en-suite bathroom lay a firearm and an iPhone 4 and iPhone - there were blood spatters on one of the phones.

Mr Botha said four phones in total were found in the athlete's home and none of them had been used to call emergency services.

'SHE WAS A JEZEBEL SENT FROM HELL':  FURY AT FORMER NIGERIAN MINISTER'S ATTACK ON VICTIM

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode has sparked outrage after blaming Reeva Steenkamp for her death saying the 'jezebel' provoked the global sporting star into a murderous rage.
He said that the Paralympian 'was provoked into a murderous rage by his pretty little lover and that she played on his insecurities and inadequacies.'
'In one moment of blind rage he has lost everything.. and  all because of a sexy and pretty little model who the devil sent his way,' he wrote. 

The court also heard that two boxes of testosterone and needles were found in Pistorius' bedroom - the state prosecutor had to correct Mr Botha when he initially called the substance 'steroids.'
In the same room they also found an overnight bag was on a couch on the left hand side of the bed as well as slippers. 
Mr Botha said he wanted Pistorius charged additionally with a weapons violation after unlicensed .38 calibre ammunition was found in the athlete's bedroom safe - though the defence later claimed the ammunition belonged to the athlete's father Henke.
Pistorius has said he had been a victim of crime and received death threats, but today the court heard there were no records of this.
The athlete made notes with a silver pen as the case progressed.

Second day: Pistorius is transported to the Pretoria Magistrate Court for the second day of his bail hearing earlier this morning

Misleading: Police used decoys when Oscar Pistorius was transported to the Pretoria Magistrate Court

Decision: Pistorius, who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics, will now spend a seventh night behind bars before the hearing resumes in the morning

PISTORIUS' WEAPONS APPLICATION

Pistorius has applied to the central firearms registry as collector to these firearms.
Six applications are pending, but any charge of violent crime will make it unlikely that firearm licenses will be granted.

Mr Botha said there was 'no way' he believed Pistorius's version of events.
He said he believed Pistorius, who won two gold medals and a silver at London’s 2012 Paralympic Games, was a flight risk and he was opposing bail.
He told the court Pistorius has offshore accounts and a property in Italy - which was later disputed by Pistorius' team - and said that he saw the runner's family looking for documents and a specific memory stick with details of offshore accounts.
Discussing extradition he said: 'We don't want another Dewani to happen. We're still waiting to get him back in the country.'
He was referring to Shrien Dewani who is wanted in South Africa over the honeymoon murder of his wife in November 2010, but is now fighting extradition in Britain.
Today details were released of a row he allegedly had with a man over a girl at Kyalami racetrack where Pistorius allegedly threatened to 'f*** up' the rival.
It was also claimed he was involved in another shooting at a restaurant in Johannesburg in January and asked the gun owner to take responsibility for the incident.

Scene of horror: This is the toilet cubicle where Reeva Steenkamp was found 'slumped over but alive' after being shot three times through the locked door

Hidden: Prosecutors believe that Pistorius stood near the large corner bath and took aim at the cubicle door (seen on the right) which Miss Steenkamp was hiding behind

Cross-examination: The court gasped and the magistrate was forced to call for order after Mr Roux revealed that the witness who allegedly heard the screaming lived 600 metres away

Statement: Pistorius said that he was 'deeply in love' with his girlfriend and that she had bought him a Valentine's Day present

The defence will have to prove the extenuating circumstances that would justify granting bail so Pistorius will be free until the trial starts.
It is not expected to begin for at least four months - it would be heard by a judge sitting alongside two assessors – typically magistrates or retired magistrates - as the South Africa legal system does not have a jury system.
Next Pistorius' lawyer Barry Roux, one of South Africa’s leading defence lawyers, crossed examined the policeman.
The court gasped and the magistrate was forced to call for order after Mr Roux revealed that the witness who allegedly heard the screaming lived 600 metres away - later on in questioning Mr Botha admitted the distance may have less such as 300 metres.
Mr Roux said there was no sign of an assault or a struggle on Miss Steenkamp.
While questioning the detective Mr Roux that the substance found in his client's room was not banned and that police were trying to give the discovery a 'negative connotation.'
'It is an herbal remedy,' Roux said. 'It is not a steroid and it is not a banned substance.'
Police 'take every piece of evidence and try to extract the most possibly negative connotation and present it to the court,' he said.
Prosecutor Nel also had to clarify that police were not saying that Pistorius was using the substance, only that it was discovered along with the needles in his bedroom.
Mr Roux said a post-mortem examination showed Miss Steenkamp's bladder was empty and said that was consistent with her getting up at 3am to go to the toilet.
The lawyer asked repeatedly why the police did not make simple checks - over the lighting and whether Pistorius had other phones.
He said Pistorius phoned the housing complex manager for help at 3.19am then Netcare hospital a minute later.
Although Pistorius looked distraught at the beginning of the hearing, he was not as emotional as yesterday's appearance and looked more positive as his defence lawyer rounded on Mr Botha.
International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence told the media  after the substance claims that Pistorius was drug tested twice in London last year by the IPC, on August 25 and September 8 and both test results were negative.
Yesterday Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably as Mr Roux, read the athlete’s statement asking that he be allowed bail.

Media glare: Press line up outside the Pretoria Magistrate Court - the hearing was delayed due to the scrum and one journalist was reported to have fainted

Tough decisions: The hearing at Pretoria Magistrates' Court is due to resume at 11am local time tomorrow morning - it was initially expected to last for two days

Fame: The global sporting star's arrest has made a headline news around the world and every detail has been played out on the glare of the media

The hushed court also heard a statement from a close friend of Miss Steenkamp who said the model and law graduate had told her ‘she would marry Oscar Pistorius if he asked her. She said he was intense but she loved him’. He treated her ‘like gold’. '
In court the prosecutor told the bail hearing the couple had had a shouting match and Miss Steenkamp fled to the bathroom and locked herself in.
She was an ‘unarmed, innocent woman’. But Mr Roux insisted there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge. ‘There is no concession this is a murder,’ he said.
It was a theme underlined by Pistorius in his affidavit. He said: ‘I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder because… I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.’
He said on the evening of February 13 they had decided to stay in and had gone to bed.
‘I’m acutely aware of people gaining entries to homes to commit crime, I’ve received death threats. I sleep with my 9mm under my bed.’ He said he heard a noise in the bathroom after getting up to close a sliding door. ‘I was scared and didn’t switch on the light.
As Pistorius's relatives supported him in court, the distraught family of Miss Steenkamp attended her funeral in Port Elizabeth.
Her brother Adam said that her death had 'left space missing inside all of the people that she knew.

culled from dailymail.co.uk