Pistorius trial starts late
Judge Thokozile Masipa kept court GD in suspense as the anticipated 10am starting time for Oscar Pistorius's murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria came and went on Monday.
By 10.30am, case number cc113/13 had still not been called.
Three empty water glasses were placed on her desk in front of the 13 legal brains gathered for Pistorius's moment of reckoning.
He turned around briefly and spoke to his uncle Arnold and winked and smiled at family members behind him, who included his brother Carl, almost a look-alike of himself.
Steenkamp's mother June sat behind him to the right, speaking only occasionally, glancing at him at the other side of the courtroom.
People stood to stretch their legs while two policemen guarded the door through which Masipa will enter.
Previous appearances have been delayed by a woman named Annemarie who has parachuted herself in with an attempt to make submissions regarding Pistorius's mental health.
At 10.45am the lawyers suddenly left the court room and their banks of lever arch files, which customarily means they are about to meet the judge in chambers before the trial starts.
Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day last year and contravening the Firearms
Control Act. He has said he thought she was an intruder when he shot her through a closed toilet door.
- Sapa