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| On 3rd Day of Testimony, Pistorius Says Girlfriend Died in His Arms | On 3rd Day of Testimony, Pistorius Says Girlfriend Died in His Arms |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — For a third straight day, Oscar Pistorius, the world’s best-known disabled athlete, took the stand at his murder trial on Wednesday, recounting his actions in the moments after he fired four rounds from a handgun through a locked bathroom door, killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. | PRETORIA, South Africa — For a third straight day, Oscar Pistorius, the world’s best-known disabled athlete, took the stand at his murder trial on Wednesday, recounting his actions in the moments after he fired four rounds from a handgun through a locked bathroom door, killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. |
| Mr. Pistorius contends that he thought an intruder had entered his home and that he opened fire for fear of being attacked. But the prosecution says he committed premeditated murder, a charge that carries a minimum jail term of 25 years. | Mr. Pistorius contends that he thought an intruder had entered his home and that he opened fire for fear of being attacked. But the prosecution says he committed premeditated murder, a charge that carries a minimum jail term of 25 years. |
| The state prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, opened a pugnacious cross-examination, challenging an assertion by Mr. Pistorius that he made a mistake and “took Reeva’s life.” | The state prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, opened a pugnacious cross-examination, challenging an assertion by Mr. Pistorius that he made a mistake and “took Reeva’s life.” |
| “You killed Reeva Steenkamp, didn’t you?” Mr. Nel said. “Say it. Say: yes, I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.” | “You killed Reeva Steenkamp, didn’t you?” Mr. Nel said. “Say it. Say: yes, I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.” |
| Earlier, Mr. Pistorius had told the court: “I did not intend to kill Reeva or anybody else for that matter.” | Earlier, Mr. Pistorius had told the court: “I did not intend to kill Reeva or anybody else for that matter.” |
| Describing the scene when he broke down the bathroom door with a cricket bat after having tried to kick it open, Mr. Pistorius said: “I could see she was breathing, struggling to breathe.” | Describing the scene when he broke down the bathroom door with a cricket bat after having tried to kick it open, Mr. Pistorius said: “I could see she was breathing, struggling to breathe.” |
| Pausing between sentences, and coaxed gently by his lawyer, Mr. Pistorius, 27, seemed to struggle to hold back sobs as he described carrying Ms. Steenkamp’s bleeding body. He tried to help Ms. Steenkamp breathe by putting his fingers in her mouth, he said, and placed a hand on her hip to try to staunch the bleeding. | Pausing between sentences, and coaxed gently by his lawyer, Mr. Pistorius, 27, seemed to struggle to hold back sobs as he described carrying Ms. Steenkamp’s bleeding body. He tried to help Ms. Steenkamp breathe by putting his fingers in her mouth, he said, and placed a hand on her hip to try to staunch the bleeding. |
| “I just sat there with her and waited for the ambulance to arrive,” he said. | “I just sat there with her and waited for the ambulance to arrive,” he said. |
| But when an ambulance arrived, a paramedic informed him “that Reeva has passed,” he said. “Reeva had already died whilst I was holding her.” Police officers at the scene took photographs of him and told him he was under arrest. | But when an ambulance arrived, a paramedic informed him “that Reeva has passed,” he said. “Reeva had already died whilst I was holding her.” Police officers at the scene took photographs of him and told him he was under arrest. |
| “I asked a policeman if I might wash my hands because the smell of the blood was making me throw up,” he said. | “I asked a policeman if I might wash my hands because the smell of the blood was making me throw up,” he said. |
| As his testimony unfolded, June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, sat impassively in the courtroom, betraying no emotion. | As his testimony unfolded, June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, sat impassively in the courtroom, betraying no emotion. |
| The court adjourned briefly after Mr. Nel asked Mr. Pistorius if he had heard the term “zombie-stopper,” apparently referring to a type of gun or ammunition. Mr. Nel said he wanted to show a video related to the term, but the defense objected that the video was inadmissible. | The court adjourned briefly after Mr. Nel asked Mr. Pistorius if he had heard the term “zombie-stopper,” apparently referring to a type of gun or ammunition. Mr. Nel said he wanted to show a video related to the term, but the defense objected that the video was inadmissible. |
| When the proceedings resumed, the defense said it agreed that the video could be shown. | When the proceedings resumed, the defense said it agreed that the video could be shown. |
| It showed Mr. Pistorius firing several weapons, including a handgun and a shotgun, and using a watermelon as a target. When the melon was hit and exploded, a voice off camera described the impact as a “zombie-stopper.” | |
| “I was shooting at a watermelon with a handgun,” Mr. Pistorius testified. “That was my voice saying those words,” he said, adding that he was “very upset” to hear himself speak them. | |
| Mr. Nel asked Mr. Pistorius whether he had been shooting at the watermelon to see the effect of shooting the same high-powered ammunition at a human brain, but Mr. Pistorius refused to be drawn on that suggestion. | |
| The prosecutor stunned many in the court when he said that the bullet that struck Ms. Steenkamp in the head had the same explosive effect as the round that hit the melon. He showed a picture of her wounds, with blood and brains spilling from her head. | |
| “I don’t like to look at a picture. I was there,” Mr. Pistorius said, before breaking down in sobs. | |
| Continuing his cross-examination, Mr. Nel said parts of Mr. Pistorius’s latest testimony were at odds with the version of events he gave during a bail application shortly after Ms. Steenkamp’s death in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013. | |
| “My version never changed,” Mr. Pistorius insisted. |