Pistorius didn't suffer from mental illness at time of shooting

Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter on trial for murder for shooting his girlfriend, was not suffering from a mental condition at the time of the killing, a psychiatric report said Monday.

The conclusions by a panel of mental health experts, read out by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, appeared to remove the possibility that the Olympic athlete could be declared not guilty because of a mental disorder, which would have led to his referral to a state psychiatric institute for care. 

The court-ordered evaluation was conducted in the past month after a psychiatrist testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder that could have contributed to the fatal shooting in his home in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013.

Pistorius, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, has admitted to shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp but maintains he mistook her for an intruder hiding in his bathroom.

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 defense testified he had an anxiety disorder.

The defense 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 offenses, 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 defense lawyer Barry Roux accepted the findings of a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists after 30 days of evaluation.

During the trial, prosecutors have tried to paint a picture of a self-obsessed Pistorius who knowingly killed his law graduate girlfriend as she cowered behind a locked bathroom door. Pistorius could face a life sentence if found guilty.

Following the assessment report, Pistorius' defense called sound expert Ivan Lin, who questioned whether neighbors 193 yards away could have heard screams coming from the bathroom, or identified them as a man or woman.

"At 177 meters away, if the scream was from the toilet, it is highly unlikely that the listener can hear the screams, let alone interpret the sound source reliably," he said. Lin's testimony, which is yet to be cross-examined, comes after state witness and Pistorius neighbor Michelle Burger testified that she was woken in the middle of the night by "bloodcurdling screams" from a woman, followed by shots.

Wire services