"I can still taste blood in my mouth": Cop reveals chilling death scene of tragic Reeva Steenkamp

 

Tragic: Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by boyfriend Oscar Pistorius who claimed he mistook her for an intruder

A police officer has told how the death of tragic model Reeva Steenkamp still haunts him as he revealed grisly details of the crime scene.
South African police photographer Morné du Toit said the "smell of death" hung over the front door as he arrived at the home where Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend dead.
Mr du Toit, who is asking the High Court in South Africa to allow him to go on ill-health retirement, said in court papers he could still "taste blood" from the scene and the horrific things he saw inside the home controlled his dreams.

 

Jailed: Oscar Pistorius could be free as early as August following the killing of his girlfriend

He said: "I can still remember the distinct smell of death at the front door and today I can still taste blood in my mouth.
"This incident haunts me day and night, it controls my dreams and I can’t seem to make it go away.”
Revealing the moment he walked into the crime scene at the Silverwoods Country Estate on Valentine’s Day 2013 after Pistorius shot Reeva dead, Mr du Toit, who has been a warrant officer in Pretoria for more than 20 years, said he was told to take pictures of everything.

According to the South African newspaper IOL News, he said: "I started taking pictures in the bathroom on the top floor where the victim was shot in the toilet.
"I took pictures in the toilet, the bullet holes through the toilet door and the blood splatters in the bathroom.
"I went to the main bedroom and followed the bloody trail downstairs to the front door."

 

He said that at the front, he found a pile of blood-soaked towels, and the walls from the main bedroom to the entrance of the property were all spattered with blood.
"The smell of death was prominent at the front door. I still remember the scene very clearly. I have continuous dreams of lying in a bath of blood," he added.

 

Gruesome: One of the police photographer's has revealed the chilling scene that he walked into following the killing

"These thoughts flash through my mind… it haunts me and keeps me awake."
Pistorius looks set to be freed from jail in August after serving just 10 months of a five year jail term after being found guilty in October last year of culpable homicide.
The former Paralympic ace admitted shooting Reeva but claimed the killing was a tragic mishap after he mistook her for an intruder.
Following his part in the case, Mr du Toit was admitted to hospital for depression and has not returned to work since.
No date has yet been set for the next hearing into Mr du Toit's case against the police.