Pistorius mental health in question, athlete portrayed as 'manically obsessed'

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A judge will rule on Wednesday whether Oscar Pistorius will be committed to one month of psychiatric tests to establish if he has a "general anxiety disorder," as his murder trial reaches its climax. 

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel formally asked the court to have Pistorius committed Tuesday, after defence psychiatrist Meryll Vorster claimed the sprinter's deep-seated anxiety would have given him a heightened fear of crime.

During two months of trial, Pistorius's lawyers have sought to portray him as manically obsessed with safety after a difficult childhood and in the face of high crime levels in South Africa. Those factors, they argue, help explain his reaction on Valentine's Day last year when he allegedly believed his girlfriend to be an intruder and shot her dead through a locked toilet door.

Nel said he did not believe Pistorius's mental state was unusual, but warned the athlete's defence team may try to use that evidence to limit sentencing, launch an appeal or reset the case.

"My lady, accused persons have in the past replaced their counsel, particularly when things go wrong," said Nel.

In a hint of his closing arguments, Nel also accused Pistorius of frequently changing his defence and using poor mental health as a fallback.Pistorius lawyer Barry Roux furiously objected to Nel's request and went on the attack."My lady I say it with great deference, Mr Nel's reading of the law is quite unfortunate."

"It's just a ruse to get a second opinion and it's simply going nowhere."Judge Thokozile Masipa said she would rule on the request on Wednesday."I'll be back with my decision tomorrow," she said.If Pistorius is referred, he will wait until a bed is free at the notoriously backlogged hospitals in South Africa to undergo a 30-day mental evaluation.If he is not referred, evidence in his trial could conclude as soon as this week.

Pistorius trial resumes after brutal cross examination

The murder trial of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has resumed Monday after a two-week break, with the defense calling another round of expert witnesses after the prosecution tore apart the athlete's testimony. The trial's seventh week started with testimony from Johan Stander, the first person Pistorius says he called after he shot Reeva Steenkamp at his home in the early hours of February 14, 2013.

Stander lived at the same gated community as Pistorius.

Pistorius has said that Stander and his daughter were the first people to arrive on the scene after the shooting.

New witnesses are expected to back the athlete's testimony that he feared for his life when he shot through the toilet cubicle door at his home on Valentine's Day last year and that he didn't know Steenkamp was not in the bed at the time because the room was too dark.

Earlier, Pistorius appeared to change his defense under cross examination, casting doubt on his credibility.

The 27-year-old initially told the court that he shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, thinking the 29-year-old law graduate was an intruder coming to attack him in the dead of night.
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