Pistorius at Increasing Risk of Suicide, Lawyer Says
A psychologist’s report read by the defense at the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius on Wednesday said the disabled athlete — once a major draw at international track meets, including the Olympics — was at increasing risk of suicide without treatment for post-traumatic stress and depression brought on by the killing of his girlfriend last year.
The assertion on the 36th day of the trial raised the stakes in a battle of perceptions and presentation between the defense and the prosecution over the true nature of Mr. Pistorius’s personality and the extent of his mental health problems before and after the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Feb. 14, 2013.
Mr. Pistorius, 27, has denied murdering Ms. Steenkamp, testifying that he shot her by mistake because he believed that an intruder had entered his home in the South African capital, Pretoria.
Specifically, the defense is seeking to challenge the depiction of Mr. Pistorius as prone to rage, violence, lies and narcissism — factors that the prosecution has cited to support its case that the athlete, a double amputee since infancy, murdered Ms. Steenkamp, 29, in a jealous rage.
The trial, which has been often interrupted, resumed on Monday after a six-week break during which Mr. Pistorius was assessed by a panel of three psychiatrists and also examined by a psychologist.
The chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, sought to counter the psychologist’s report on Wednesday, saying that the panel of three psychiatrists had found that Mr. Pistorius was not mentally ill when he fired four shots from a handgun through a locked toilet door, killing Ms. Steenkamp. The psychiatrists also found that Mr. Pistorius would have been able to tell the difference between right and wrong when he opened fire. But, after the killing, he developed “an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressive mood,” the panel of psychiatrists said.
For the defense, Mr. Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, acknowledged that the separate psychologist’s report showed that Mr. Pistorius did not suffer from anxiety that impaired his behavior before the shooting. Specifically, the report rebutted earlier defense testimony from a forensic psychiatrist, who had determined that Mr. Pistorius suffered from a condition known as generalized anxiety disorder.
However, the report said that in the 16 months since the shooting, during which Mr. Pistorius has mainly been free on bail while either awaiting or on trial, he had developed depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and that the risk of suicide could increase.
“Mr. Pistorius has been severely traumatized by the events that took place,” Mr. Roux quoted the report as saying. “He currently suffers from a post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. He is also mourning the loss of Ms. Steenkamp.”
“Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risks for suicide,” the report was quoted as saying.
According to Mr. Roux, the psychologist’s assessment also said that “no evidence could be found to indicate that Mr. Pistorius has a history of abnormal aggression or explosive violence.”
“He does not display the personality characteristics of narcissism and of psychopathy that are mostly associated with men in abusive relationships and have been linked to rage-type murders in intimate relationships.”
During the trial, Mr. Nel, the prosecutor, has often suggested that Mr. Pistorius’s behavior — he has wailed, sobbed and retched at various times — is an act to seek sympathy from Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa or to evade tough questions.
The defense has depicted him as genuinely remorseful — an impression that Mr. Roux sought to underscore on Wednesday with the psychologist’s report, which also found that Mr. Pistorius and Ms. Steenkamp, a law school graduate and model, had been in a “loving relationship” with no sign of abuse or coercion.
On Tuesday, Peet van Zyl, Mr. Pistorius’s former manager and agent, testifying for the defense, said that only hours before the shooting, Mr. Pistorius had been trying to ensure that Ms. Steenkamp had a business class airline ticket to accompany him to a track meet in Britain. The gesture was depicted by Mr. van Zyl as unique in Mr. Pistorius’s relationships with girlfriends.
On Wednesday, Mr. Nel assailed Mr. van Zyl’s account, insisting that Mr. Pistorius had tried to obtain an airline ticket for at least one other former partner to accompany him.
If convicted of premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius would face a mandatory minimum term of 25 years, but he could receive a shorter sentence if found guilty on the lesser charge of culpable homicide. The trial is being broadcast around the world, but witnesses may request the suppression of television images so that only the audio portion of their testimony is available.
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