This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/world/africa/pistorius-team-to-begin-his-defense.html
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| In Testimony, Pistorius Calls Shooting a Mistake | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — Tentative, shaking, his voice so low it was sometimes hard to hear him, the Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius on Monday took the stand in his own defense, testifying that he had shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, to death a year ago because of a tragic mistake. | |
| “There hasn’t been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven’t thought about your family,” he said, addressing Ms. Steenkamp’s relatives, who sat stony-faced in the courtroom. “I can’t imagine the pain and the sorrow and the loss I caused your family.” | |
| Mr. Pistorius, 27, who says he shot Ms. Steenkamp, 29, through a bathroom door in his house because he believed she was an intruder, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, the most serious of the charges the double-amputee athlete faces. | |
| “I want to start by apologizing to Reeva’s family,” he said, looking broken and shattered as he finally took the stand. “I was simply trying to protect Reeva.” | |
| In his morning testimony, the first time he has spoken in his defense since the trial began in March, Mr. Pistorius gave a harrowing account of his state of mind since the shooting. He has been taking antidepressants and sleeping pills, he said, and has suffered from such bad nightmares — waking up terrified, with the smell of “all that blood” fresh in his memory each time — that, he said, he is afraid to go to sleep at all. | |
| One night it was so bad that he found himself sitting in a closet in his house. He telephoned his sister for help. | |
| “I woke up and I was terrified and for some reason I couldn’t calm myself down, so I climbed into the cupboard and got my sister to come and sit by me for a while,” he said. | |
| The defense had called a pathologist, Jan Botha, as its first witness on Monday. | The defense had called a pathologist, Jan Botha, as its first witness on Monday. |
| As Dr. Botha began his testimony by describing the contents of Ms. Steenkamp’s stomach, Mr. Pistorius held his head in his hands and placed his fingers in his ears. A court official placed a green bucket near him, apparently in case he needed to vomit, as happened earlier in the trial. | As Dr. Botha began his testimony by describing the contents of Ms. Steenkamp’s stomach, Mr. Pistorius held his head in his hands and placed his fingers in his ears. A court official placed a green bucket near him, apparently in case he needed to vomit, as happened earlier in the trial. |
| Dr. Botha testified that a forensic technique used by the prosecution to establish the time of Ms. Steenkamp’s last meal was unreliable. | Dr. Botha testified that a forensic technique used by the prosecution to establish the time of Ms. Steenkamp’s last meal was unreliable. |
| The court was shown grisly photos of blood all over the bathroom, prompting Mr. Pistorius to try to block out the images and testimony. During a brief recess, he sobbed in the dock as his brother and sister tried to comfort him. | The court was shown grisly photos of blood all over the bathroom, prompting Mr. Pistorius to try to block out the images and testimony. During a brief recess, he sobbed in the dock as his brother and sister tried to comfort him. |
| The trial had been delayed for a week by the illness of a judicial assessor — one of two officials assisting Judge Thokozile Masipa. South Africa does not have jury trials, so it will be up to the judge to determine guilt or innocence. | The trial had been delayed for a week by the illness of a judicial assessor — one of two officials assisting Judge Thokozile Masipa. South Africa does not have jury trials, so it will be up to the judge to determine guilt or innocence. |
| The prosecution has sought to present Mr. Pistorius as irascible, possessive and trigger-happy. Prosecution witnesses have testified that they heard screams and shots coming from his house in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013. | The prosecution has sought to present Mr. Pistorius as irascible, possessive and trigger-happy. Prosecution witnesses have testified that they heard screams and shots coming from his house in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013. |
| Throughout the trial so far, Mr. Pistorius has displayed a range of emotions in the courtroom as the prosecution sought to prove that he killed Ms. Steenkamp in a violent rage. He has sobbed, prayed, thrown up, buried his face in his hands and covered his ears in response to some of the testimony. But until Monday, he had not spoken in his own defense. | Throughout the trial so far, Mr. Pistorius has displayed a range of emotions in the courtroom as the prosecution sought to prove that he killed Ms. Steenkamp in a violent rage. He has sobbed, prayed, thrown up, buried his face in his hands and covered his ears in response to some of the testimony. But until Monday, he had not spoken in his own defense. |