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Oscar Pistorius trial: Pistorius retches in the dock as he prepares to take to the stand
Oscar Pistorius takes to the stand: ‘I’m sorry. I was just trying to protect her’
(about 1 hour later)
Oscar Pistorius retched repeatedly in the dock just hours before he was expected to take to the stand to answer questions about why he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
A tearful, stuttering and seemingly grief-stricken Oscar Pistorius finally took to the stand at his murder trial on Monday, and apologised to the family of his former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The murder trial of the Olympic athlete resumed in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday with Pistorius's defence lawyers set to present the evidence that they hope will save the 27-year-old from a conviction and a maximum life sentence following the shooting on Valentine’s Day last year.
“I will start my evidence by tendering an apology,” he said. “I would like to apologise to Mr and Mrs Steenkamp, her family and friends.”
Pathologist Professor Jan Botha was the first to give evidence - and Pistorius appeared distressed by the graphic details of Steenkamp’s death.
“I can’t imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness I have caused you and your family.
Pistorius’s account that he killed Steenkamp by mistake is going to “stand or fall” with his testimony in court, according to a legal expert.
"You're the first people I think of when I wake up. You're the first people I pray for. I was trying to protect Reeva. When she went to bed that night, she felt loved.
He is charged with premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp by firing four times though his bathroom door, hitting her in the head, arm and hip.
“I’ve tried to put my pen to paper many times to write to you but no words would ever suffice.”
Pistorius and his defence team have said he will testify to counter accusations that he intentionally killed the 29-year-old model – Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for a dangerous intruder hiding in the toilet cubicle.
At the beginning of the sixth week of the trial at the North Gauteng High Court, Pistorius also revealed that he has been taking anti-depressants since the accident happened, and other medication to help him sleep at night.
South Africa has no trial by jury, meaning Judge Thokozile Masipa will decide whether Pistorius is guilty or not guilty of murder.
"I'm scared to sleep,” he said tearfully. “I have terrible nightmares about what happened that night. I can smell blood. I wake up terrified."
The evidence from Professor Botha is critical to the defence because it attempts to cast doubt on the prosecution’s assertion that Steenkamp ate no more than two hours before she was killed.
Formerly a firearm enthusiast, Pistorius said he “never wants to be a near a firearm again”, and told the court of one occasion when he woke in a panic in the middle of the night, and hid in a cupboard, and telephoned his sister who came round to comfort him.
Pistorius has claimed the couple were in his bedroom by 10pm on 13 February 2013, and any indication that they were awake much later could undermine the Olympian's account of the sequence of events.
He continued by talking through his childhood, telling a story of how his mother, who died when he was 15, was called to his school after a fight with another boy who had been bullying him and who had ripped his shirt.
Professor Botha told the High Court in Pretoria that the timeframe of digestion was difficult to assess because of variations in many factors, including the volume of food consumed, its calorie content and the psychology of the person who was eating.
“My mother said ‘It’s right that you should stand up for what you believe.’ She said she won’t be back. And she gave the shirt to the [other boy’s] mother, and said to bring it back when it was mended.”
The evidence countered statements by a pathologist called by the prosecution who said that, judging by the contents of her stomach, Ms Steenkamp probably last ate no more than two hours before her death.
Pistorius is likely to be in the witness stand for a week or more, when he will be tested on his version of events of how his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp came to be shot and killed in his house in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s day last year.
Pistorius’s testimony will also give prosecutors the chance to cross-examine the so-called Blade Runner and scrutinise every aspect of his story.
The disabled athlete, who fought for years to win the right to compete against able-bodied runners and made history by running at the 2012 Olympics, will be questioned by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
Brian Webber, one of Pistorius’s lawyers, said they had no choice but to put him on the stand and legal experts have agreed it is a risk Pistorius’s defence have to take.
In a rare comment after the prosecution closed its case, Pistorius said: “We have a lot ahead of us.”
During four weeks of prosecution-led testimony, Pistorius often reacted emotionally to details of Steenkamp’s death. He retched and vomited in court when a pathologist described the young woman’s injuries and sobbed and frequently covered his ears while sitting in the dock.
He will have to describe in detail his fatal shooting of Steenkamp during his own testimony.
“He can't ignore it,” Marius du Toit, a criminal defence lawyer and former state prosecutor in South Africa who is observing the trial, said.
“He has to get into the box and confirm his version and be open to cross-examination. And this matter is going to stand or fall with that.”
Defendants in South Africa have the right to remain silent but because Pistorius has admitted shooting through the door with his 9mm pistol without knowing – in his version of events – who was on the other side, he is under pressure to explain what happened.
Prosecutors argue that Pistorius murdered Steenkamp after a fight.
Pistorius has not yet spoken publicly about the shooting, only giving his side in a written statement at his bail hearing a year ago and in court documents presented at the start of his trial last month.
In those statements, Pistorius claims to have been in a loving relationship with Steenkamp but, in fear for his life, he shot at what he thought was an intruder after hearing a window being opened in his bathroom and then a noise inside the cubicle.
Even if he is acquitted of murder, Pistorius could still face a negligent killing conviction that could see him jailed for up to five years. His testimony must show that he acted reasonably when he shot four times from close range.
“A reasonable man most probably would not have fired four shots through the door,” lawyer and observer du Toit said.
“His actions were definitely not reasonable and I think that's his biggest problem.”
