Trial Discussion Thread #19 - 14.04.07, Day 17

[minor4th]

Hi, sorry, what's ETA?

Edited To Add = ETA

 

[minor4th]

Trying to get a feel for the rapport between Roux and OP, if that can possibly be gleaned from the questioning

 

[Gryffindor]

OP had previous history of driving to an ex-gf's house and blowing up balloons, spray painting her drive with his declaration of love etc and as it was the subject of a media article then Reeva's expectations may have been for a similar declaration.

Though it was Reeva making all the effort. "Can I cook for you?" etc. Oscar didn't seem that bothered about planning stuff for Valentine's Day :-\

 

[kaos]

Though it was Reeva making all the effort. "Can I cook for you?" etc. Oscar didn't seem that bothered about planning stuff for Valentine's Day :-\

Which then begs the question, if he wasn't all that bothered, how upset would Reeva have been with him?

We may never know what his plans were of course but given his testimony today about being "bowled over" and buying the house along with his other other declarations of how much he loved her and as it was their first Valentine, I doubt it would have went unobserved. MOO.

 

[minor4th]

It wasn't Valentine's Day yet ..and they had only been dating for 3 or 4 months.

 

[kaos]

Trying to get a feel for the rapport between Roux and OP, if that can possibly be gleaned from the questioning

I couldn't work out if he was looking over to OP's family or Reeva's during the testimony but there were a few glances over to the public gallery from him.

 

[minor4th]

I couldn't work out if he was looking over to OP's family or Reeva's during the testimony but there were a few glances over to the public gallery from him.

I haven't been able to pick up anything yet

 

[Gryffindor]

It wasn't Valentine's Day yet ..and they had only been dating for 3 or 4 months.

Yeah, I was going by Reeva's message from court when she asked him if she could cook a meal for him/them on the evening of the day she died.

 

[minor4th]

Yeah, I was going by Reeva's message from court when she asked him if she could cook a meal for him/them on the evening of the day she died.

I wouldn't say that was necessarily related to Valentine's Day though

 

[Cherwell]

Yeah, I just don't see that much was either lost or gained by this witness - either in direct or cross examination. What I took away from it is that the food digestion is not exact, but the state's expert could have been right or the last meal could have been more than a couple of hours before.

There was also a bunch of back and forth about whether the back wounds were caused by the magazine rack or a ricochet, and my conclusion is that the two experts have different opinions about the most likely - neither is proven conclusively to be true or false, and I don't think it really matters either way.

The most important bit from this expert IMO is that he gave a reasonable scenario whereby Reeva may not have screamed during the 4 bullet shots.

I disagree, I think the most important bit was where he also admitted that she was "primed" to scream out of fear, because of OP shouting about an intruder. Classic moment!

 

[Viper]

I really don't believe for one second he was going to buy her a car but think he may now put it forward as it's Reeva's viewing of cars that have been highlighted in the ipad history. Remember though these were people at the beginning of their relationship and considering the lengths OP went to for his previous gf then I'd have expected a grand gesture of some sort from him and if he didn't? Well that's maybe a motive right there.

BIB. I believe that you are both right and possibly wrong. I'm not getting the "love of my life" vibes from OP towards Reeva, but he needs to demonstrate to the court that he did feel that way, even in this early stage of the relationship. So again I follow you that OP is going to do a magic trick and turn that night of horror in to some romantic fantasy Valentines Eve.

 

[Cherwell]

Yet some people don't entertain Valentine's Day through personal choice. i.e. it's merely Hallmark/Clinton's day commercialism

Huh? :waitasec:

Clintons is a chain of shops in the UK selling greetings cards, party paraphernalia and other gift tat.

http://www.clintoncards.co.uk/

 

[minor4th]

I disagree, I think the most important bit was where he also admitted that she was "primed" to scream out of fear, because of OP shouting about an intruder. Classic moment!

That was good also, but the takeaway still is that there are reasonable scenarios in which Reeva would not have screamed. As far as the defense goes, I think that's all that matters.

 

[kittychi]

It's not exactly far fetched to think that someone is schizophrenic/paranoid schizophrenic .. it's a fairly common disorder, especially with the amount of dope smoking around these days.

I don't know anything about schizophrenia so I can't speak to that.

He seems to have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome to me.

Either way, he sure does not seem the same emotionally now as he was before the murder.

 

[TorisMom003]

It wasn't Valentine's Day yet ..and they had only been dating for 3 or 4 months.

And yet according to OP he was putting his house up for sale so that he could be closer to Reeva, she was his "beloved" and knew that she was loved.

Reeva asked him what he could eat the night of Valentine's day, that she wanted to cook for him. She bought him a gift and the heart shaped candies.

IMO OP would (should) have something for Reeva as well.

 

[wb180]

OP said he isn't steady when he is on his stumps means:

1. he would have wore his legs because he was planning to use his gun if required and he needs to be steady if he wants to shoot.

2. he couldn't have shot in quick succession as the recoil from each gun shot would have make him even more unbalanced (maybe knocked him off as he said his dog can knock him off). This also reinforces that he would have taken his legs as he plans to use his gun if necessary.

So his words and actions are so different to me.

 

[minor4th]

I just finished listening to OP testimony, and I know that most of you are going to strongly disagree with me - but I found his exhaustion and emotion to be genuine. I think he has been through hell since Reeva died.

Now, that does not really tell us whether he is guilty or innocent of premeditated murder, so no need to throw that one at me - his emotion could be for himself and what he's going through, as I'm sure some will argue. He could be feeling sorry for himself and grieving simply over the life he thought he would have. Yes, that's possible.

It's also possible that he is truly remorseful and wished that he had not killed Reeva and that it was grievous mistake that he can never rectify.

In any event, his emotion seemed genuine to me, and not rehearsed at all. He did not come across as so many defendants we've seen who are clearly faking emotion for the sake of gaining sympathy. I get the feeling that OP really kind of hates himself for what he has done...but that is just my opinion.

 

[Rumpole]

I disagree, I think the most important bit was where he also admitted that she was "primed" to scream out of fear, because of OP shouting about an intruder. Classic moment!

With OP shouting that there was and intruder, I think she may well have been "primed" to keep very, very quiet and stand by the door.

Besides I don't think the concept of being "primed to scream" was explored or shown to be true. It sounds nuts to me. "Primed" or not, the fact remains that with the shock of being shot she may not have had time to react and scream within 4 seconds or so.
Any sound would be VERY brief and cut off by the shot to the head, and perhaps masked by the 4 loud bangs.

 

[kittychi]

It wasn't Valentine's Day yet ..and they had only been dating for 3 or 4 months.

Oscar proclaimed his love in the affi pretty clearly: "We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way."

 

[TorisMom003]

I don't know anything about schizophrenia so I can't speak to that.

He seems to have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome to me.

Either way, he sure does not seem the same emotionally now as he was before the murder.

Perhaps because he is on trial for the murder of Reeva instead of being patted on the head/back with police, Reeva's family and friends, and the rest of the world saying "Oh poor boy, what a horribly tragic accident that you went through!"

I doubt that OP really thought that this "incident" would go this far. He more than likely thought that like his brother, he too would walk away with no punishment for killing a woman.

MOO