As the defence rested it’s case yesterday in Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial, it gives us time to look back at the witnesses called by the defence and some of the key points made by these witnesses.

As this has been a three month long trial, it is not possible for a comprehensive summary to be given here or, realistically, on any other news website. However, The Daily Maverick have put together a fairly complete list –  these are the first two witnesses who set the scene – including Oscar himself.

The first witness called by the defence was forensic pathologist  Jan Botha. The questioning was along the line of Reeva’s last meal and the forensic report put forward by the state.

The first – but not the last – defence witness to seemingly overstep his area of expertise, having testified about ballistics despite admitting that he was not a ballistician. Conceded under cross-examination that Steenkamp may have emptied her bladder as much as 15 minutes before death – begging the question of what she was doing in toilet thereafter.

The second witness called by the defence was Oscar himself, and it was a very emotional and, at times, contradictory testimony.

 Testified to his anxiety and grief after the shooting; his upbringing, including having inherited security concerns from his mother; his previous exposure to crime, including claims to have been followed on the highway; and his 2009 Vaal River boating accident. Testified that he was aware that building was going on around his complex at the time of the shooting, and that he had heard of an incident involving the use of a ladder to gain access to a house. Described his relationship with Steenkamp as loving and mutually supportive.

Oscar went through the motions of what he says happened that night, some of which was not coherent with itself and some of which has been called into question by recent evidence (such as his mobility on his stumps). The inconstancies in his bail affidavit and his court testimony were called out by the state.

For the other summaries of the other 14 witnesses called by the defence, check out The Daily Maverick.

We now have another month to wait before we hear the lawyer’s closing arguments from both sides.