Dramatic week in court as Pistorius takes the stand

Some of most dramatic courtroom scenes so far in the trial of Oscar Pistorius took place this week, as the man himself took to the stand charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Duration: 01:57

Published

11 months ago

Categories

World

Topics

Legal, Africa, World

People

Oscar Pistorius, Reeva Steenkamp, Barry Roux, Gerrie Nel, June Steenkamp

Places

South Africa, Africa, Pretoria

Transcript

SCRIPT: Six weeks since the trial of Oscar Pistorius began, the cast of characters -- lawyers, family members and the man himself - has become familiar. But the court drama heightened this week, as the man dubbed the Blade Runner took to the stand. He began his testimony with a tearful apology to the family of Reeva Steenkamp. SOUNDBITE 1 Oscar Pistorius (man) (English, 12 sec) (addressing to the Steenkamp family): "I wake up every morning and you are the first people I think of, the first people I pray for. I can't imagine the pain and sorrow and the emptiness that I've caused you and your family." Over two days of often harrowing testimony, Pistorius described the moment he shot his girlfriend dead on Valentine's Day last year. Court rules mean he cannot be filmed or photographed while in the witness stand, but his voice alone made evident his distress. SOUNDBITE 2 Oscar Pistorius (man) (English, 25 sec): "And I sat with Reeva and I cried. I don't know how long I was there for. She wasn't breathing." Judge: "We'll take an adjournment". On Wednesday, prosecutor Gerrie Nel began subjecting Pistorius to fierce cross-examination. As Steenkamp's mother June looked on stony-faced, he sought to pick holes in the sprinter's version of events. SOUNDBITE 3 Gerrie Nel, prosecutor (English, 13 secs): "Now you don't know. It cannot make sense these are two different things you are tailoring as we go. / I'm not convinced about your answer now. I think you are trying to cover up for lies." The trial had been scheduled to run for three weeks, but has already been extended until at least mid-May, with media interest remaining intense. Until a verdict is reached, the grisly circumstances of Reeva Steenkamp's death will continue to divide opinion, and hold millions capitvated. SHOTLIST: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, 7 - 11 APRIl 2014, SOURCE: POOL UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED *NO RESALE FOR NON EDITORIAL USE ON POOL IMAGES* *ATTENTION CLIENTS: OSCAR PISTORIUS IS SPEAKING OFF CAMERA* -Pistorius arriving at court (Source: AFPTV) -MS courtroom -Pistorius taking to the stand -SOUNDBITE 1 -Pistorius in court with head in hands -VAR courtroom -SOUNDBITE 2 -MS Prosecutor Gerrie Nel -Steenkamp's parents -WS Nel -SOUNDBITE 3 -Pistorius and family leaving court (Source: AFPTV) -VAR media outside court /// ------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: SAfrica-trial-Pistorius,WRAP Prosecution accuses Pistorius of tailoring evidence by Johannes MYBURGH =(PICTURE+VIDEO)= ATTENTION - UPDATES with testimony /// PRETORIA, April 11, 2014 (AFP) - The prosecution on Friday angrily accused Oscar Pistorius of tailoring evidence while rubbishing his account of why he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as a fabrication. During a third day of intense cross-examination, prosecutor Gerrie Nel accused the 27-year-old of having a selective memory on incriminating details of the night he killed Steenkamp in the bathroom. The prosecutor nicknamed "the bulldog" also ripped apart the Paralympian's claim that he had rushed to the bathroom with a gun "out of instinct" that danger was lurking behind the door. "I find your instinct strange," said Nel. "Instinct would have made sure Reeva was safe. That was never your instinct: to make sure she was safe." Pistorius has been charged with murdering his 29-year-old model girlfriend and faces a life sentence if convicted. He has said he fired the shots accidentally and did not mean to kill anyone. But Nel has been seeking to pick apart Pistorius's version of events. As Nel unleashed volley after volley of questions on the details of what happened that Valentine's Day night and over apparent discrepancies in Pistorius's accounts, the sprinter grew increasingly agitated. "I'm not looking for an excuse, if I don't remember it I don't remember it!" Pistorius said, breaking down during one exchange about the placement of objects in his bedroom. "This is the night I lost the person I most cared about, I don't know how people don't understand that," he said through sobs. - 'Why are you changing your evidence?' - ----------------------------------------- But Nel did not let up, accusing the double amputee sprinter of changing his version of events and of deliberately not remembering details that could be detrimental to the athlete's case. "Why are you changing your evidence?" Nel asked. "I'm tired my lady," Pistorius said. "I'm not convinced about your answer now, I think you're trying to cover up for lies," Nel said. The athlete said he fired through his locked bathroom door thinking the model and aspiring actress was an intruder, as he had a heightened fear of being a victim of crime. But Nel, who has charged the Paralympian with Steenkamp's premeditated murder, dismissed the claim. "You're standing there, you're facing the door. Why would you think somebody was attacking you?" "In fact, you knew Reeva was behind the door and you shot at her!" he said. "It's not true, milady," Pistorius replied softly, before the court session ended for the day. - Not ready - ------------- Before starting a third day of pummelling cross-examination, Nel said Steenkamp's mother confirmed that Pistorius had requested a meeting with the family. "But they weren't ready" to meet the Paralympian, Nel told the court, adding that Reeva's mother June Steenkamp wanted that on the record. The prosecutor had earlier attacked Pistorius for making a public apology to the Steenkamps when he took the stand on Monday, saying the double amputee sprinter was playing to the gallery. But Pistorius said then that he had once asked to meet his girlfriend's family in person to apologise. June Steenkamp was quoted in a newspaper this week saying the athlete had gone from "hero to devil" after killing her daughter. "My presence unnerves him, I'm sure of it. He's answerable to me," Steenkamp told Britain's Daily Mirror. Friday marked the end of a difficult week on the stand for Pistorius, during which he has been accused of lying and fabricating evidence. "Your version is so improbable that nobody would ever think it's reasonably, possibly true it's so impossible," Nel thundered during the cross-examination on Thursday. "Your version... is a lie," he charged. Confronted with crime scene pictures that showed his version to be improbable, Pistorius said police tampered with objects when they came to his upmarket house. Someone moved fans, pulled the duvet onto the floor and opened the curtains, he said. "Is this one big conspiracy?" asked Nel with incredulity. "They would do all this to you?" The double-amputee faces a life sentence if convicted. Pistorius's cross-examination is a stern test of both his version of events and of his resolve. Defence lawyer Barry Roux is expected to call up to 17 witnesses in the remainder of the case. Originally scheduled to run for three weeks, the case has been extended until mid-May but could go on longer.