The State Wraps its Case in the Oscar Pistorius Trial

Much to the surprise of Oscar trial observers, the prosecution called it a day today and court was adjourned until Friday March 28, when the defence will make its case.

For us armchair members of the jury, Advocate Gerrie Nel’s case seems incomplete but what we should not forget is cross-examination of witnesses for the defence is still to come.

Subdued by comparison to the Roux we’ve seen in action these past couple of weeks, Barry Roux’s examination today of Reeva’s WhatsApp messages to Oscar concentrated on what police cellphone expert Captain Francois Moller called “the other 90%”. The court heard Moller read ‘normal’ and loving texts between the couple at a happier time.

Tragic as it was for Reeva’s mom June to listen to such intimate correspondence between her daughter and her daughter’s killer, it was utterly comical listening to the unlikely Moller and Roux repeating terms of endearment shared by Reeva and Oscar.

I’m presuming Angel, Boo, Baba and Baby are not words in the vocabulary of these two men.

The judge acceded to court resuming on Friday in order to give the defence time to go through the state’s uncalled witnesses. It’s probable that the defence will seek permission from the judge to call some among them, and of course expert witnesses have yet to reinforce their case.

A legal expert on Channel 199 said Oscar is likely to be the first witness called when proceedings resume this coming Friday.

Oscar will be only too aware that his all-important testimony could sway things either way for him and these next few days will in all probability be jam-packed as advisors and coaches put Oscar to the test because his future lies in how credible the judge and her two assessors find his testimony.