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| Tearful Drama as Pistorius Says He Panicked | Tearful Drama as Pistorius Says He Panicked |
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| PRETORIA, South Africa — It was bold, splashy and theatrical, the kind of flourish more often seen in courtroom dramas than in real-life murder trials. In the middle of his emotional and harrowing testimony on Tuesday, the champion sprinter Oscar Pistorius stood up in full view of the packed courtroom, removed his prosthetic legs and demonstrated in a few ungainly steps how very vulnerable and exposed he can be with only his stumps to depend on. | PRETORIA, South Africa — It was bold, splashy and theatrical, the kind of flourish more often seen in courtroom dramas than in real-life murder trials. In the middle of his emotional and harrowing testimony on Tuesday, the champion sprinter Oscar Pistorius stood up in full view of the packed courtroom, removed his prosthetic legs and demonstrated in a few ungainly steps how very vulnerable and exposed he can be with only his stumps to depend on. |
| The moment came on a grueling day in which a shaky, tearful Mr. Pistorius for the first time gave a full account of what he says happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. And it went toward bolstering the case the defense is trying to make: that Mr. Pistorius, the world’s most celebrated disabled athlete, is at the same time an anxious and physically fragile man who sprayed bullets through the door of his bathroom in a panic because he believed someone had broken into his house. | The moment came on a grueling day in which a shaky, tearful Mr. Pistorius for the first time gave a full account of what he says happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. And it went toward bolstering the case the defense is trying to make: that Mr. Pistorius, the world’s most celebrated disabled athlete, is at the same time an anxious and physically fragile man who sprayed bullets through the door of his bathroom in a panic because he believed someone had broken into his house. |
| “I was overcome with fear,” he said of the moment he says he heard noises coming from outside his bedroom early on Feb. 14, 2013. “I started screaming and shouting for the burglars to get out of my house. I shouted for Reeva to get on the floor. I shouted for her to phone the police.” | “I was overcome with fear,” he said of the moment he says he heard noises coming from outside his bedroom early on Feb. 14, 2013. “I started screaming and shouting for the burglars to get out of my house. I shouted for Reeva to get on the floor. I shouted for her to phone the police.” |
| The trial has dominated the news here in South Africa. Born without fibulae, bones that connect the knee to the ankle, Mr. Pistorius lost his lower legs to amputation when he was a baby, but with his talent, perseverance and charm went on to become a bona fide South African hero. An inspirational sprinter who scooped up medals in able-bodied as well as disabled competitions, he carried the flag for South Africa at the closing ceremony in the 2012 Olympics in London. | The trial has dominated the news here in South Africa. Born without fibulae, bones that connect the knee to the ankle, Mr. Pistorius lost his lower legs to amputation when he was a baby, but with his talent, perseverance and charm went on to become a bona fide South African hero. An inspirational sprinter who scooped up medals in able-bodied as well as disabled competitions, he carried the flag for South Africa at the closing ceremony in the 2012 Olympics in London. |
| In addition to the attention surrounding a trial involving a high-profile star athlete, the case has raised other issues: about South Africa’s gun culture; about the country’s laws covering self-defense and its no-jury trial system; about the fear of violent crime that many people here say they always carry with them; and about how women are treated by handsome and seemingly entitled celebrities like Mr. Pistorius. The trial, which began nearly a month ago and is expected to last into May, is receiving gavel-to-gavel coverage, with its own dedicated cable channel and all-day radio program. | In addition to the attention surrounding a trial involving a high-profile star athlete, the case has raised other issues: about South Africa’s gun culture; about the country’s laws covering self-defense and its no-jury trial system; about the fear of violent crime that many people here say they always carry with them; and about how women are treated by handsome and seemingly entitled celebrities like Mr. Pistorius. The trial, which began nearly a month ago and is expected to last into May, is receiving gavel-to-gavel coverage, with its own dedicated cable channel and all-day radio program. |
| By Mr. Pistorius’s account, Feb. 13, 2013, had been a routine evening in his fledgling romance with Ms. Steenkamp, 29, a law graduate and model he had met several months earlier and with whom he said he was “besotted.” The two had eaten dinner together at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated Pretoria development and then gone upstairs to his bedroom. There they whiled away the evening texting, surfing the Internet, watching television and chatting before eventually falling asleep. | By Mr. Pistorius’s account, Feb. 13, 2013, had been a routine evening in his fledgling romance with Ms. Steenkamp, 29, a law graduate and model he had met several months earlier and with whom he said he was “besotted.” The two had eaten dinner together at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated Pretoria development and then gone upstairs to his bedroom. There they whiled away the evening texting, surfing the Internet, watching television and chatting before eventually falling asleep. |
| In earlier testimony, Mr. Pistorius, 27, read through an almost numbing litany of text messages he had exchanged with Ms. Steenkamp, replete with endearments and emoticons. That was part of the defense’s effort to establish that contrary to the prosecution’s account, the pair had a loving and supportive relationship, one that had weathered earlier disagreements and had reached the point where they could relax happily together at his house. | In earlier testimony, Mr. Pistorius, 27, read through an almost numbing litany of text messages he had exchanged with Ms. Steenkamp, replete with endearments and emoticons. That was part of the defense’s effort to establish that contrary to the prosecution’s account, the pair had a loving and supportive relationship, one that had weathered earlier disagreements and had reached the point where they could relax happily together at his house. |
| The night was hot and muggy, Mr. Pistorius testified, and his air-conditioning was not working. He woke up in the middle of the night, spoke to Ms. Steenkamp, who he said was also awake, and then — without turning on the lights or putting on his prosthetic legs — went to the balcony next to his bedroom to move the electric fans he had set up there, he said. | The night was hot and muggy, Mr. Pistorius testified, and his air-conditioning was not working. He woke up in the middle of the night, spoke to Ms. Steenkamp, who he said was also awake, and then — without turning on the lights or putting on his prosthetic legs — went to the balcony next to his bedroom to move the electric fans he had set up there, he said. |
| Then, he says, he heard a noise, and the mundane turned to the horrifying. | Then, he says, he heard a noise, and the mundane turned to the horrifying. |
| “My lady, that’s the moment that everything changed,” he told Judge Thokozile Masipa, his voice faltering and fading in and out of audibility. “I thought that a burglar had entered my home. Initially I froze. I didn’t know what to do. The first thing that ran through my mind is that I needed to protect myself,” he said, “that I needed to protect Reeva and I.” | “My lady, that’s the moment that everything changed,” he told Judge Thokozile Masipa, his voice faltering and fading in and out of audibility. “I thought that a burglar had entered my home. Initially I froze. I didn’t know what to do. The first thing that ran through my mind is that I needed to protect myself,” he said, “that I needed to protect Reeva and I.” |
| Mr. Pistorius is accused of murdering Ms. Steenkamp by shooting her four times in a fit of violent rage as the two argued late into the night. If convicted of the most serious of the charges against him, he faces at least 25 years in prison. | Mr. Pistorius is accused of murdering Ms. Steenkamp by shooting her four times in a fit of violent rage as the two argued late into the night. If convicted of the most serious of the charges against him, he faces at least 25 years in prison. |
| He contends that there was no argument at all, that it was a tragic mistake, that he grabbed his gun from under the bed and went down the hall in search of the intruders. By his account, he believed that Ms. Steenkamp had remained in bed, in their dark bedroom, because he had spoken to her before getting up and that she failed to respond to his screams because she feared for her own safety from intruders. | He contends that there was no argument at all, that it was a tragic mistake, that he grabbed his gun from under the bed and went down the hall in search of the intruders. By his account, he believed that Ms. Steenkamp had remained in bed, in their dark bedroom, because he had spoken to her before getting up and that she failed to respond to his screams because she feared for her own safety from intruders. |
| But it was tough going. Even under the mildest of questioning by his own defense lawyer, Barry Roux, Mr. Pistorius stuttered, paused, cried, lowered his voice to a whisper and at times could barely maintain his composure. And when he got to the crucial part of his story — the part where he fired through the bathroom door, believing himself in danger, only to discover Ms. Steenkamp’s blood-spattered body inside a few moments later — he began weeping. | But it was tough going. Even under the mildest of questioning by his own defense lawyer, Barry Roux, Mr. Pistorius stuttered, paused, cried, lowered his voice to a whisper and at times could barely maintain his composure. And when he got to the crucial part of his story — the part where he fired through the bathroom door, believing himself in danger, only to discover Ms. Steenkamp’s blood-spattered body inside a few moments later — he began weeping. |
| “I was just panicked at this point,” he said, describing how he had taken the cricket bat he kept in his bedroom and used it to batter down the locked door. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried like that or screamed like that. I was crying out for the Lord to help me. I was crying out for Reeva.” | “I was just panicked at this point,” he said, describing how he had taken the cricket bat he kept in his bedroom and used it to batter down the locked door. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried like that or screamed like that. I was crying out for the Lord to help me. I was crying out for Reeva.” |
| After bashing the door open, he said, he sat over Ms. Steenkamp’s body. “I sat over Reeva and I cried,” he said — for how long, he cannot remember. “She wasn’t breathing.” | After bashing the door open, he said, he sat over Ms. Steenkamp’s body. “I sat over Reeva and I cried,” he said — for how long, he cannot remember. “She wasn’t breathing.” |
| At that point in his testimony he broke down completely, and could not go on. | At that point in his testimony he broke down completely, and could not go on. |
| The court took a hasty break, and Mr. Pistorius’s brother, sister and aunt gathered around the witness stand to comfort him. But his gasping sobs continued to reverberate through the quiet and shocked courtroom. The court was forced to adjourn early. | The court took a hasty break, and Mr. Pistorius’s brother, sister and aunt gathered around the witness stand to comfort him. But his gasping sobs continued to reverberate through the quiet and shocked courtroom. The court was forced to adjourn early. |
| Mr. Pistorius has not yet finished his testimony. But his lack of composure on Tuesday does not augur well for how he will stand up under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, who is known for his aggressive, unforgiving questioning and his ability to break down witnesses. | Mr. Pistorius has not yet finished his testimony. But his lack of composure on Tuesday does not augur well for how he will stand up under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, who is known for his aggressive, unforgiving questioning and his ability to break down witnesses. |
| “If he’s genuinely emotional, when he gets put under pressure he’ll be worse than he is now, and Nel will carve him up into little pieces,” said Martin Hood, a defense lawyer here. “If he is destroyed, his story is destroyed, and he’ll get convicted. But if his demeanor changes when he’s cross-examined and he becomes a stronger witness, then his credibility is also questioned.” | “If he’s genuinely emotional, when he gets put under pressure he’ll be worse than he is now, and Nel will carve him up into little pieces,” said Martin Hood, a defense lawyer here. “If he is destroyed, his story is destroyed, and he’ll get convicted. But if his demeanor changes when he’s cross-examined and he becomes a stronger witness, then his credibility is also questioned.” |
| Mr. Hood said that Mr. Pistorius’s emotional unpredictability made him a tricky bet as a defense client, since lawyers need to know how clients will respond to questioning. And he said that until it is subject to rigorous scrutiny through cross-examination, Mr. Pistorius’s story remains just that: a story. | |
| “Cross-examination is the single most important tool in getting to the truth of the situation,” Mr. Hood said. “It’s very easy to say it happened this way, but if you don’t test it, you’ll never know the truth.” | “Cross-examination is the single most important tool in getting to the truth of the situation,” Mr. Hood said. “It’s very easy to say it happened this way, but if you don’t test it, you’ll never know the truth.” |