- Court forced to adjourn twice after athlete breaks down in witness box
- Left box in tears after repeating what he shouted to suspected intruder
- 'I screamed get the f*** out of my house,' he wailed in high-pitched voice
- Amputee also wept as he denied intentionally shooting Reeva Steenkamp
- Prosecutor accuses him of crying because he's 'mixing up' his testimony
- Gerrie Nel claims the runner is doctoring his evidence of the fatal night
- Mr Nel tells athlete: 'I'm going to prove your version of events is untrue'
- Athlete met by fans carrying white balloons as he arrived at the court
Oscar Pistorius left the witness box in tears twice today during a fierce line of questioning from the state prosecutor who accused him of doctoring his testimony to fit evidence at the scene.
Jumping from one piece of evidence to another, prosecutor Gerrie Nel sought to keep Pistorius off guard by exhaustively listing alleged inconsistencies in the athlete's version of events.
On several occasions, Pistorius wept in the face of dogged and forensic interrogation, prompting his accuser to ask him if he was using his emotional displays to mask his difficulty in answering the questions.
'You're not using your emotional state as an escape are you?' Mr Nel said, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head.
Strain: A weary-looking Oscar Pistorius rubs his eyes as he leaves the high court in Pretoria after a fourth day of gruelling cross-examination about the night he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
'Tailored evidence': State prosecutor Gerrie Nel sought to keep Pistorius off balance by exhaustively listing alleged inconsistencies in the athlete's version of events
Mr Nel also tried to pin Pistorius on whether he intended to shoot at the intruder, stating that he did not fire a warning shot.
He alleged the runner changed his aim with his 9mm pistol to ensure that he hit Reeva Steenkamp as she fell back against a magazine rack after the first shot.
'You never gave them a chance, in your version,' Mr Nel said, building the prosecution case that Pistorius shot to kill.
Pistorius said he fired four times through the closed toilet door in his home last year after hearing a 'wood' sound that he mistook for the door being opened by an intruder who was about to attack him.
The athlete said that, in retrospect, the noise he probably heard was the magazine holder being moved by his girlfriend.
Interrogator: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel walks past a courtroom reconstruction of the toilet in which Miss Steenkamp was shot. The cricket bat which the athlete used to break down the toilet door can also be seen
Mr Nel said Pistorius killed Miss Steenkamp intentionally after a fight and is lying about fearing an intruder.
He said Pistorius heard Miss Steenkamp, struck by the first shot, fall against the magazine rack and that he used that sound to adjust his aim.
'I'm saying you heard the magazine rack and you changed your aim,' Mr Nel said to the Paralympic champion.
'I wouldn't have heard anyone fall inside of the toilet while I was shooting,' Pistorius replied to Mr Nel, though directing his gaze to Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will decide on the verdict.
Analysing the finest detail: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel gestures as he explains a possible scenario about how Pistorius might have fired at girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Pistorius said he searched desperately for Miss Steenkamp in the dark bedroom after the shooting, feeling across the bed, on the floor next to it and behind a curtain before realising it might have been her in the toilet.
Mr Nel asked Pistorius why he did not turn on the lights and also check to see if the bedroom door was open and if Miss Steenkamp had fled that way as gunshots had been fired.
'It's one of the things that make your version unbelievable,' Mr Nel said.
Earlier, Pistorius broke down after being asked to repeat
what he said as he moved towards the bathroom where he shot Reeva
Steenkamp after hearing a noise he thought was a burglar.
'I screamed "get the f*** out of my house",' he wailed in a high-pitched voice. Mr Nel alleged that Pistorius shouted the same words at Miss Steenkamp during a row.
Evidence: An image of the four bullet holes in the toilet door through which Pistorius shot his girlfriend
Pistorius wept uncontrollably, prompting the judge to adjourn the hearing to allow him to compose himself.
After the judge left the courtroom, Pistorius stood sobbing with his body trembling and turned away from the gallery.
Mr Nel also tried to pin Pistorius on whether he intended to shoot at the intruder, but the 27-year-old said he did not intend to do so and that he was terrified at the time.
'I didn't have time to think about what I wanted to do,' Pistorius said.
That prompted Mr Nel to question whether Pistorius was changing his legal strategy from 'self-defence' to 'involuntary action'.
Reconstruction: Investigating officer Captain Mike van Aardt (right) is asked by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel (centre) to demonstrate the opening and closing of the door through which Reeva Steenkamp was shot
He later said Pistorius did not fire a warning shot.
Pistorius said that when he shot he had no idea who was behind the door, in response to Mr Nel's remark that he did not know whether a child, an unarmed burglar or more than one person could have been in the toilet.
'You never gave them a chance, in your version,' Mr Nel said, building the prosecution case that Pistorius shot to kill.
Proceedings were halted on another occasion when he wept while denying that he intentionally shot his girlfriend.
When pressed to state what his defence was, Pistorius said: 'I heard the noise and I did not have time to interpret it and fired out of fear.
Mr Nel replied: 'You know exactly what you were doing, you fired at Reeva. You fired at her.'
Fighting back tears, Pistorius cried out 'I did not fire at Reeva' - forcing the judge adjourn the hearing.
In the spotlight: Oscar Pistorius arrives at court in Pretoria for the start of his second week on the stand
Backing their hero: A supporter holding white balloons greets Oscar Pistorius as he arrives at high court in Pretoria for a second week on the witness stand after a gruelling week of testimony
When he returned to the stand, Mr Nel accused Pistorius of crying not out of grief for his girlfriend, but because he was getting his testimony confused.
'I'm going to argue that you got emotional because you got your defences mixed up,' Mr Nel claimed, saying the Olympian he had changed his account from one of self-defence to involuntary action.
Mr Nel said the only explanation for why Miss Steenkamp was standing up against the door when she was shot was because she had been running away from Pistorius.
'All the screams and shouts were at her,' Mr Nel said. 'She fled for her life'.
The prosecution has said Pistorius's account of a mistaken shooting is a lie.
Earlier, Mr Nel told the court: 'Today, I'm going to prove your version of events is untrue. That you tailored your version, concocted your story.
'Your version is so improbable that it cannot reasonably possibly be true.'
Support: The Paralympian has returned to the stand after a gruelling week in which he was accused of deliberately shooting Reeva Steenkamp after an argument
'We love you': Pistorius is hugged by a supporter as he arrives at court for his murder trial
He went on to claim that Pistorius had argued with Miss Steenkamp shortly before the shooting.
'It's the state's case, Mr Pistorius, that she wanted to leave and that you weren't sleeping, you were both awake,' said Mr Nel.
'That's not correct my lady, that's untrue,' Pistorius replied softly.
'There was an argument,' Mr Nel said, drawing another denial.
The prosecutor's relentless questioning has elicited tears and taut replies from the world-famous double amputee, who insists he and the 29-year-old model were in a loving relationship.
Mr Nel also complained that Pistorius was being evasive and challenged him: 'Today I pick up you're not sure about things, is anything wrong?' Nel asked. 'You're fine?'
Pistorius
grew increasingly restless during the morning, wiping his face, pinching
the bridge of his nose and clenching his jaw.
Keeping the faith: A supporter offers the runner a cross as he prepares for another round of questioning from state prosecutor Gerrie Nel on the night he shot his girlfriend
Enjoying themselves: Supporters of the South African Paralympic star pose outside Court in Pretoria
Later, Mr Nel accused Pistorius of being a stickler for detail on some matters, in contrast to his frequent statements in court that he could not remember aspects of his evidence.
Mr Nel noted that Pistorius earlier said he warned Ms Steenkamp to call police about an intruder in a whisper, contradicting later evidence that he spoke in a 'low tone'.
Tthe prosecutor also said blood spatter evidence indicated that the athlete's statement about the location of a duvet in the bedroom was false.
Pistorius has said the duvet was on the bed and that police photographs of the bed cover on the floor suggest that police moved it there after the shooting.
Mr Nel said a pattern of blood drops on the duvet and on the carpet nearby show that it was on the floor before police arrived, and that its location amounts to evidence that the couple had been having an argument.
The
prosecutor also alleged that Miss Steenkamp was in the process of
getting dressed in the midst of the night-time argument and wanted to
leave Pistorius's house shortly before the shooting.
Making their feelings known: A fan holds a poster saying 'Ozzy, we love you and pray for you' outside court
Moral support: Members of a Facebook supporters' group hold a religious text and trophy as they wait for him to arrive at the high court in Pretoria
A pair of jeans strewn on the bedroom floor showed Miss Steenkamp was putting them on, Mr Nel said, and contrasted with her character as a neat person who would not leave clothes lying around.
Pistorius responded that Miss Steenkamp was neat, but he said the jeans were inside out and therefore showed that Miss Steenkamp had not been in the process of donning them.
Mr Nel also
questioned why the athlete did not give fuller details of his account
in his bail statement last February, days after he killed Miss
Steenkamp.
Pistorius had said then that there was a noise from the bathroom that caused him to think that people had broken into his house, but did not explain until later that it was the bathroom window sliding across and slamming against the frame.
The athlete said on Monday that he was on medication and traumatised while in a jail cell at the time of his bail statement, which could account for any discrepancies with his later evidence.
Mr Nel also said it was improbable that, in Pistorius's story, Miss Steenkamp did not ask him why he was getting out of bed in the middle of the night to retrieve fans from the edge of the balcony.
Earlier, fans of Oscar Pistorius greeted the athlete with hugs and white balloons outside court today as he arrived for a second week on the witness stand.
The
Paralympian was met with messages of support saying 'Ozzy, we love you'
and 'hero' while others played music in a festival atmosphere outside
the high court in Pretoria.
Brave: Miss Steenkamp's mother, June, looks stony-faced towards Pistorius as he is led by prosecutor Gerrie Nel through the fine details of the moments leading up to her daughter's death
He has returned to the stand after a gruelling week in which he was accused of deliberately shooting his girlfriend through a toilet door as the couple talked and argued in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
Over the weekend, Reeva Steenkamp's older sister branded the runner a 'disgusting liar' after attending some of his testimony in court with her mother.
Simone Steenkamp, 48, said: 'He is trying to convince the court that they were really close and that he cared for her. It's not true.'
She told the Mail on Sunday that the trial 'almost destroyed me'.
She said: 'He knew we were there but he almost lost his balance and fell over when he saw us.
'Then he sat in the dock, smirking. He killed my sister and yet he still seems to be enjoying his celebrity status.
'During the adjournments he marched around as if he was still a star while my mother and I just wanted to hide away,' she added.
There for her brother: The runner's sister, Aimee (centre), and other members of his entourage listen to evidence at the start of the second week of his appearance in the witness stand
Solemn: Members of Pistorius's family listen to his cross-examination by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel
'I don't understand how anyone could commit that act - kill someone - and behave like that.'
On Friday, prosecutor Gerrie Nel pushed the Paralympic
champion on his version of the exact events in the seconds before he
killed Reeva Steenkamp by firing four times through the stall door in
his bathroom with his 9mm pistol on February 14, 2013.
Mr Nel challenged the double-amputee sprinter repeatedly as to why Miss Steenkamp failed to scream when she was shot four times.
Mr Nel, one of South Africa's top attorneys, said it was beyond belief that 29-year-old law graduate and model Miss Steenkamp would have remained silent in the tiny cubicle with an armed Pistorius shouting and screaming in the adjoining bathroom.
Mr Nel later followed up with his central accusation - that the couple had an argument and Steenkamp fled to the toilet pursued by Pistorius, who then shot her through the closed wooden door.
'You knew that Reeva went behind the door and you shot at her,' Mr Nel said. 'You shot at her knowing she was behind the door.'
Pistorius, who claims he shot Miss Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was a nighttime intruder behind a toilet door in his bathroom, faces life in prison if convicted of murder.
Pistorius says he shouted at what he thought was an intruder in his house and also at Miss Steenkamp to call the police.
Mr
Nel said that if that were the case, she would not have stood up
against the door. She would have retreated away from it. And she would
have responded to Pistorius, the chief prosecutor said.
'I don't think anybody could say where she would have stood,' Pistorius replied.
Polarising opinion: Pistorius was branded a 'disgusting liar' by Reeva Steenkamp's older sister in an interview with The Mail On Sunday over the weekend but his supporters are convinced he is innocent
Encouragement: Pistorius's sister Aimee, who has been in court throughout the trial, is greeted by fans
Mr Nel led the double-amputee runner through his own account of what happened in the moments before he shot Miss Steenkamp.
Pistorius
said he heard a noise in the bathroom and moved down a hallway on his
stumps towards the bathroom while screaming to his girlfriend - who he
claims he had believed was in the bedroom - to get down and call the
police.
He said he then
heard what sounded like the toilet door slamming, then kept quiet as he
reached the bathroom entrance, then heard a noise in the toilet that he
perceived to be the sound of wood on wood, which he said made him think
someone was opening the toilet door - which he said fit badly in the
frame - to attack him.
And then, Pistorius said, he opened fire.
At each stage, Mr Nel argued that the account was improbable, questioning why Pistorius did not establish where Miss Steenkamp was and make sure she was okay, and why he would approach the alleged danger zone if he felt vulnerable on his stumps.
Mr Nel said: 'If you spoke to Reeva, the two of you could have taken lots of other steps.'
Supporters applaud the athlete's lawyer Barry Roux and his legal team as they make their way to the trial
A cluster of balloons featuring messages of support and the athlete's name were carried by fans outside court
Pistorius said he thought the perceived threat could strike at any moment: 'There was no time.'
During the cross-examination, Pistorius said Steenkamp did not scream at any point during the incident.
However, the 27-year-old track star said that he may not have heard her cries because of his ears ringing from the first shot.
Several people living nearby have testified to hearing a woman's terrified screams before and during a volley of shots.
'She's awake. She's in the toilet. You're shouting. You're screaming. You're three metres from her. She would have responded. She would not have been quiet, Mr Pistorius,' Mr Nel said.
'She didn't respond, my Lady,' Pistorius replied, addressing judge Thokozile Masipa.
'Did she scream at all whilst you shot her four times?' Mr Nel continued.
'No, my Lady.'
'Are you sure? Are you sure, Mr Pistorius, that Reeva did not scream after the first shot?' Mr Nel continued. 'Are you, Mr Pistorius?'
After a brief silence, Pistorius said: 'My Lady, I wish she had let me know she was there.'
'After you fired the first shot, did she scream?' Mr Nel asked.
'No, my Lady.'
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