The first police officer on the scene of Reeva Steenkamp’s killing destroyed the notes he made at the time, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard on Friday.
Testifying in Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, Colonel Schoombie van Rensburg said: “I didn’t have a diary. At the time I had a notebook, but it was full. I had to rely on notes.”
He was being cross-examined by Advocate Barry Roux for Pistorius. Roux asked him what he did with his notes.
“I destroyed that [sic] notes,” he replied.
Shortly before, there had been a tense exchange between the former police officer and Roux about what he may or may not have noticed at the scene of the crime, at Pistorius’s Pretoria home on 14 February last year.
Roux made suggestions that Van Rensburg had tampered with the scene.
An exasperated Van Rensburg replied that the crime scene was recorded, untouched, by a police photographer, before further photographs, showing objects having been moved around, were made.
There was a tense silence, and Roux bent down to whisper to his colleague Advocate Kenny Oldwadge sitting next to him.
Roux straightened up and showed the court his lighter side.
“Mr Van Rensburg, I’m told you’re the last witness today. I’m just trying to use the court time to find some more questions,” he said to peals of laughter.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel was unable to find a photo he wanted to question Van Rensburg on.
The officer, who was commander of the Boschkop police station, resigned in December last year to become a sports coach.
Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of model and law graduate Steenkamp. He is also charged with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
He has denied guilt on all the charges. The Pistorius trial started on March 3. Court was adjourned until Monday March 17, 2014.
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