Oscar Pistorius trial: ‘You armed yourself to kill Reeva’
The prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius ends his five-day cross-examination of the double amputee, with a summary of how he shot Reeva Steenkamp, insisting he killed her deliberately.
Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend in 2013, faced another tough grilling by prosecutor Gerrie Nel on day 23 of his trial.
“You fired four shots through the door whilst knowing that she was standing behind the door,” Mr Nel said inside the courtroom in Pretoria.
“She was locked into the bathroom and you armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her.”
“That is not true,” said 27-year-old Pistorius, who faces life in prison if convicted of murder.
‘Pulled the trigger without thinking’
Pistorius then retched into a bucket on the witness stand after being shown grisly pictures of Reeva Steenkamp after the shooting on Valentine’s day last year.
He insists he killed the 29-year-old law graduate and model accidentally after mistaking her for an intruder hiding behind a closed toilet door.
On Tuesday he told the court he had pulled the trigger without thinking after hearing a noise behind the door, out of terror and fear that his and Steenkamp’s lives were in danger.
“I was extremely fearful, overcome with a sense of terror and vulnerability,” said Pistorius.
“I didn’t think about pulling the trigger, as soon as I heard the noise, before I could think about it, I pulled the trigger.”
‘Terror and despair’
The athlete’s voice quivered as he recounted how he was “overcome with terror and despair” on finding her bloodied body slumped against the toilet after he broke down the door with a cricket bat.
#OscarTrial Nel: You armed yourself with sole purpose of killing her OP: Not true
— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) April 15, 2014
#OscarTrial Nel: You shot four shots through toilet door knowing she was there and talking to you OP: Not true
— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) April 15, 2014
“I was broken, I was overcome, filled with sadness,” he told judge Thokozile Masipa, adding he urged Steenkamp to hold on while he sought help from neighbours at his high security Pretoria residence.
Pistorius insists he and Steenkamp were in a loving, if fledgling, relationship, despite phone text messages read in court which pointed to some arguments.
Valentine’s day card
On Tuesday he read a Valentine’s day card his girlfriend got for him before her death.
“Roses are red, violets are blue,” the card begins.
“I think today is a good day to tell you that I love you,” the message concludes, the last part in Steenkamp’s own words.
#OscarTrial Nel: Why would you fire if you heard the magazine rack? OP: I didn’t have time to think, in retrospect that’s the explanation
— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) April 15, 2014
#OscarTrial OP: I was screaming Reeva, Reeva, I was crying. The more desperate I got, I ran to get cricket bat – crying and screaming
— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) April 15, 2014
The trial has drawn wide interest both in South Africa and abroad.
Before the shooting, Pistorius was one of South Africa’s most revered sportsmen, admired for his prowess on the track using carbon-fibre prosthetics that earned him the nickname “The Blade Runner” and brought him a clutch of Paralympic medals.
The defence later moved onto questioning its third witness, with the trial looking likely to run into next month.