These are terrific questions by TrueDetective and Gbtaketwo!
My 2 cents of some of a few of the questions….
Is there a 5th cartridge or was it a slip of the tongue?
I say yes, there is. Why?
No one corrected the number - not Roux, not Mangena, not the judge, nor her 2 assessors - that is 5 people in a position of authority to hear it and correct it did not.
Could the first shots possibly have been air rifle shots?
Absolutely. Although the prosecution's narrative behind photos 40 thru 44 has not been provided, these are clearly bullet type marks/holes made by projectiles of approx 4.5 mm/ .177 inch diameter. Judging from the photos shown (note, not all 11 photos labelled #40 thu to#50 were visible on the video recording), I believe there were at least two shots on the bedroom door - one most certainly went thru the door, the other, with an entrance on the TV/sitting room side of the is indeterminate because the exit side was not displayed on the video recording by SABCdiditalnews. see attached photo
Does anyone know how loud air rifle shots are, in comparison to bats on door?
Some air rifles have the capacity to generate a sonic crack. No bats wielded under human power can generate a sonic crack on this planet.
Could the hole in the bedroom door be the 5th shot?
If by 5th shot, you mean the 5th cartridge referred to by Nel, then I say NO for two reasons:
- The holes in the bedroom are 4.5 mm calibre/ diameter, while the holes in the bathroom door are 9mm -- therefore, different weapons were used.
- Since Nel has loosely implied by way of photographs, that it was the air gun that made the holes in the bedroom door, and we know that air guns use solid pellets - that is, there is no cartridge casing on a pellet.
If the 5th cartridge was found in/near bathroom could Oscar have used his trip upstairs to move the cartridge there so as to take focus off bedroom door
Yes! Through testimony thus far, we know Oscar made 3 trips upstairs before the police arrived.
Is it a silencer or a compensator?
When I first saw the air gun photo I thought it was a silencer. Now I am not so sure. After a bit of research I am thinking its just a compensator - a piece of add on equipment that is claimed to improve the accuracy, direct the CO2 gases away from the shooter, and to give the rifle a more
tactical look - had a good laugh when I read that in more than one place.
That said, it does not matter at all whether it was a compensator or a silencer because neither of those attachments suppress the sound of a sonic crack. The silencer only suppresses the sound of the muzzle blast.
References
http://www.airgunhome.com/pages/silencers.html
What sounds do come from a gun when fired: trigger/hammer noise, muzzle blast, sonic crack, target impact
Silencers do not address the sounds produced by action cycling, target impact or sonic crack. Silencers only deal with muzzle blast.
http://www.straightshooters.com/general-airgun-information.html
General info on air guns
Cropped screen shots of door taken from