PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter on trial for murder for shooting his girlfriend, was not suffering from a mental condition at the time she was killed, a psychiatric report said yesterday.
Pistorius, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, has admitted to shooting dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but maintains he mistook her for an intruder hiding in his toilet in an upmarket Pretoria suburb.
The trial, which began in March, took a month-long break to allow the 27-year-old to undergo tests at Pretoria’s Weskoppies hospital after a forensic psychologist brought by the defence testified he had an anxiety disorder.
The defence has only a few more witnesses to call before the trial reaches the verdict stage.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said it was important to find out whether the condition affected his criminal responsibility.
“At the time of the alleged offences, the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder or mental defect that affected his ability to distinguish between the rightful or wrongful nature of his deeds,” Prosecutor Gerrie Nel read from a report submitted to the court.
Both Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux accepted the findings of a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists after 30 days of evaluation.
