Experts find no sign of mental illness in Oscar Pistorius

The murder trial of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius resumed yesterday with experts saying they had found no sign of mental illness after four weeks of psychiatric tests

Pretoria: The murder trial of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius resumed yesterday with experts saying they had found no sign of mental illness after four weeks of psychiatric tests.

Oscar Pistorius. Pic/AFP.

“Mr Pistorius did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have rendered him criminally not responsible for the offence charged,” said state prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

He was reading from one of two reports prepared during a month of examination by a psychiatric panel and a psychologist. Both said Pistorius could be held criminally responsible.

The 27-year-old star runner is accused of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. He admits shooting Steenkamp with a 9mm pistol through a locked toilet door, but says it was a mistake as he thought she was an intruder coming to attack him in the dead of night.

“Mr Pistorius was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act,” said Nel. Sitting in the dock, Pistorius stared straight ahead, unblinking, as Nel read the reports.

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