The Oscar Pistorius murder case continues to spread suffering.
The Daily Mail is reporting that the police photographer assigned to document the crime scene of Reeva Steenkamp's death says he is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder from the ordeal that haunts him day and night.
Police photographer Morne du Toit, one of several workers assigned to the case, said after witnessing the Steenkamp crime scene that he no longer can perform his job - despite the fact that he has witnessed multiple deaths and mutilated bodies during his 20-year career, the Mail reported.
(See crime-scene photos at the Daily Mail website.)
Three weeks after Steenkamp's death, Du Toit was admitted to a hospital for treatment for depression or PTSD. He claims he has not been able to work since. The Mail reported Du Toit's story has become public because he is engaged in a legal battle as to whether he is entitled to a full pension from the South Africa Police Service after refusing to go back to work.
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"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.
"At the front door was a pile of towels, soaked in blood. All the walls from the main bedroom to the front door had blood splatters. The smell of death was prominent at the front door. I still remember the scene very clearly,' he added.
"I have continuous dreams of lying in a bath of blood. These thoughts flash through my mind. ... It haunts me and keeps me awake."
Du Toit sought medical treatment for PTSD three weeks after the Steenkamp assignment, the Mail reported, and applied for early retirement two months later on the grounds of failing health.
South African police initially granted Du Toit's request but later revoked it because Du Toit had been taking other paid work while on medical leave.
Pistorius, who is serving a five-year culpable homicide sentence for shooting Steenkamp in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day, 2013, is scheduled to be released to house arrest on Aug. 21. He is due back in court in November, however, as prosecutors will try to secure a murder sentence in an appeal of his culpable homicide sentence.
He could face a minimum of 15 years if convicted.
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