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/2014/04/10/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-murder-trial.html
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Gasps in Court As Prosecution Prods Pistorius | Gasps in Court As Prosecution Prods Pistorius |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — The prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, Gerrie Nel, had just begun his cross-examination, and he was doing everything he could to goad Mr. Pistorius into losing his composure and his temper. | PRETORIA, South Africa — The prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, Gerrie Nel, had just begun his cross-examination, and he was doing everything he could to goad Mr. Pistorius into losing his composure and his temper. |
| And so, in a move that brought gasps to the courtroom here on Wednesday, Mr. Nel taunted Mr. Pistorius with a horrific piece of evidence: a photograph of the shot-open head of the victim, Reeva Steenkamp, with blood and bits of brain oozing from it. | And so, in a move that brought gasps to the courtroom here on Wednesday, Mr. Nel taunted Mr. Pistorius with a horrific piece of evidence: a photograph of the shot-open head of the victim, Reeva Steenkamp, with blood and bits of brain oozing from it. |
| “That’s it — have a look, Mr. Pistorius!” the prosecutor spat out angrily, as Mr. Pistorius sat, stunned, in the witness box, seeming to crumple in on himself. “I know you don’t want to, because you don’t want to take responsibility, but it’s time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you’ve done, Mr. Pistorius.” | “That’s it — have a look, Mr. Pistorius!” the prosecutor spat out angrily, as Mr. Pistorius sat, stunned, in the witness box, seeming to crumple in on himself. “I know you don’t want to, because you don’t want to take responsibility, but it’s time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you’ve done, Mr. Pistorius.” |
| But Mr. Pistorius, the 27-year-old track superstar who claims he shot Ms. Steenkamp, his girlfriend, last year because he thought intruders had broken into his house, would not be drawn in. His voice low and shaking, he said that no, he would not look. | But Mr. Pistorius, the 27-year-old track superstar who claims he shot Ms. Steenkamp, his girlfriend, last year because he thought intruders had broken into his house, would not be drawn in. His voice low and shaking, he said that no, he would not look. |
| “I’m tormented by what I saw and felt that night,” he said, clenching his jaw and forcing his words out between barely repressed sobs. “As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I don’t have to look at a picture. I was there.” | “I’m tormented by what I saw and felt that night,” he said, clenching his jaw and forcing his words out between barely repressed sobs. “As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I don’t have to look at a picture. I was there.” |
| The confrontation happened early in a riveting series of exchanges between Mr. Pistorius, the celebrated amputee sprinter who has been charged with murder, and Mr. Nel, the pugnacious, dogged prosecutor leading the state’s case against him. Mr. Pistorius spent the first part of this week painstakingly, and painfully, setting out his account of what happened when he shot and killed Ms. Steenkamp, 29, early on Feb. 14, 2013; Mr. Nel is now trying to dismantle that story, piece by piece. | The confrontation happened early in a riveting series of exchanges between Mr. Pistorius, the celebrated amputee sprinter who has been charged with murder, and Mr. Nel, the pugnacious, dogged prosecutor leading the state’s case against him. Mr. Pistorius spent the first part of this week painstakingly, and painfully, setting out his account of what happened when he shot and killed Ms. Steenkamp, 29, early on Feb. 14, 2013; Mr. Nel is now trying to dismantle that story, piece by piece. |
| The stakes could not be higher. If convicted of the most serious charge against him, premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius, a double below-the-knee amputee who wears prosthetic legs, faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. | The stakes could not be higher. If convicted of the most serious charge against him, premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius, a double below-the-knee amputee who wears prosthetic legs, faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. |
| “My life is on the line,” Mr. Pistorius declared at one point, responding to Mr. Nel’s accusation that he was providing canned, off-the-topic speeches instead of answering the questions put to him. | “My life is on the line,” Mr. Pistorius declared at one point, responding to Mr. Nel’s accusation that he was providing canned, off-the-topic speeches instead of answering the questions put to him. |
| Mr. Nel was unmoved. | Mr. Nel was unmoved. |
| “Reeva doesn’t have a life anymore,” he retorted, his voice full of indignation and contempt. “Because of what you’ve done, she’s not alive anymore. So please, listen to the questions and give us the truth.” | “Reeva doesn’t have a life anymore,” he retorted, his voice full of indignation and contempt. “Because of what you’ve done, she’s not alive anymore. So please, listen to the questions and give us the truth.” |
| With a reputation for combativeness and a string of high-profile victories under his belt, Mr. Nel is known here as the “pit bull,” and he wasted no time in trying to rattle Mr. Pistorius, who has often seemed rattled since the trial began last month. | With a reputation for combativeness and a string of high-profile victories under his belt, Mr. Nel is known here as the “pit bull,” and he wasted no time in trying to rattle Mr. Pistorius, who has often seemed rattled since the trial began last month. |
| “You killed Reeva Steenkamp, didn’t you?” Mr. Nel barked, moments after he began his cross-examination. “Say it! Say, ‘Yes, I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.’ ” | “You killed Reeva Steenkamp, didn’t you?” Mr. Nel barked, moments after he began his cross-examination. “Say it! Say, ‘Yes, I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.’ ” |
| Mr. Pistorius resisted that bait, too, and for the most part seemed cannier and more clued-in than his often hysterical demeanor throughout the trial would have suggested. He told a fairly smooth story during direct examination at the gentle hands of his lawyer, Barry Roux. But now he faces the considerable task of sticking to that account — and finding plausible explanations for the many holes in it — in the face of Mr. Nel’s relentless, Inspector Javert-like determination. | Mr. Pistorius resisted that bait, too, and for the most part seemed cannier and more clued-in than his often hysterical demeanor throughout the trial would have suggested. He told a fairly smooth story during direct examination at the gentle hands of his lawyer, Barry Roux. But now he faces the considerable task of sticking to that account — and finding plausible explanations for the many holes in it — in the face of Mr. Nel’s relentless, Inspector Javert-like determination. |
| Based on his questioning so far, Mr. Nel is likely to focus on finding discrepancies between what Mr. Pistorius says now, and what he said in a statement to the court last year. For instance, the prosecutor made much on Wednesday of whether Mr. Pistorius went on his balcony to move two electric fans on the night of the killing; where the fans were plugged in; and whether anything in Mr. Pistorius’s house was tampered with or contaminated during the investigation, as the defense contends. | Based on his questioning so far, Mr. Nel is likely to focus on finding discrepancies between what Mr. Pistorius says now, and what he said in a statement to the court last year. For instance, the prosecutor made much on Wednesday of whether Mr. Pistorius went on his balcony to move two electric fans on the night of the killing; where the fans were plugged in; and whether anything in Mr. Pistorius’s house was tampered with or contaminated during the investigation, as the defense contends. |
| Mr. Pistorius will also undoubtedly have to explain why Ms. Steenkamp locked the door when she went into the bathroom; why, as Mr. Pistorius claims, he never heard her scream; and why he failed to determine that she was not in bed when he got up to hunt down the intruder he thought had come into the house. | Mr. Pistorius will also undoubtedly have to explain why Ms. Steenkamp locked the door when she went into the bathroom; why, as Mr. Pistorius claims, he never heard her scream; and why he failed to determine that she was not in bed when he got up to hunt down the intruder he thought had come into the house. |
| But much of what Mr. Nel did appeared to be pure showmanship, intended to cow and discomfit Mr. Pistorius. For instance, after some legal tussling with Mr. Roux, Mr. Nel showed the court a video depicting Mr. Pistorius firing several weapons at a shooting range some months before Ms. Steenkamp’s death. | But much of what Mr. Nel did appeared to be pure showmanship, intended to cow and discomfit Mr. Pistorius. For instance, after some legal tussling with Mr. Roux, Mr. Nel showed the court a video depicting Mr. Pistorius firing several weapons at a shooting range some months before Ms. Steenkamp’s death. |
| At one point, Mr. Pistorius fires at and hits a watermelon with a handgun, whereupon it explodes. His voice can be heard referring to the bullets as “zombie stoppers” and joking that the watermelon was “softer than brains.” | At one point, Mr. Pistorius fires at and hits a watermelon with a handgun, whereupon it explodes. His voice can be heard referring to the bullets as “zombie stoppers” and joking that the watermelon was “softer than brains.” |
| Under questioning, Mr. Pistorius declared that he meant zombie brains, not human ones, and that he was sorry to have made the remark. Mr. Nel tried to get him to admit that he had, in effect, shot the watermelon to see what it would be like to shoot a person’s head and have it explode. | Under questioning, Mr. Pistorius declared that he meant zombie brains, not human ones, and that he was sorry to have made the remark. Mr. Nel tried to get him to admit that he had, in effect, shot the watermelon to see what it would be like to shoot a person’s head and have it explode. |
| “You know that the same thing happened to Reeva’s head,” Mr. Nel said. “It exploded. Have a look.” It was then that he produced the photograph, displaying it on video monitors for all the court to see. | “You know that the same thing happened to Reeva’s head,” Mr. Nel said. “It exploded. Have a look.” It was then that he produced the photograph, displaying it on video monitors for all the court to see. |
| Mr. Pistorius put his face in his hands, and the court had to take a brief recess. | |
| Mr. Pistorius has maintained from the beginning that the killing was a deadly mistake. And on Wednesday, despite the theatrical exasperation of Mr. Nel, he introduced a new element into his story. For the first time, he said that though he had grabbed his gun reflexively from under his bed and pointed it at the bathroom door, he had never intended even to fire it. | Mr. Pistorius has maintained from the beginning that the killing was a deadly mistake. And on Wednesday, despite the theatrical exasperation of Mr. Nel, he introduced a new element into his story. For the first time, he said that though he had grabbed his gun reflexively from under his bed and pointed it at the bathroom door, he had never intended even to fire it. |
| “I didn’t shoot at anyone,” he said. “I didn’t intend to shoot at someone. I shot out of fear.” He fired, he said, because “I didn’t have time to think.” When he “realized the scale of what was happening,” he said, he stopped firing. | “I didn’t shoot at anyone,” he said. “I didn’t intend to shoot at someone. I shot out of fear.” He fired, he said, because “I didn’t have time to think.” When he “realized the scale of what was happening,” he said, he stopped firing. |
| “I did not intend to kill Reeva — or anybody else,” he said. | “I did not intend to kill Reeva — or anybody else,” he said. |
| The cross-examination came after Mr. Pistorius finished answering Mr. Roux’s questions about what happened the night Ms. Steenkamp died: how he rushed to the bathroom on his stumps; how he fired four rounds at the bathroom door, thinking an intruder was in the house; how he was then unable to find Ms. Steenkamp, who he had believed was still in the bedroom; and how, crazed with panic, he put on his prosthetic legs, grabbed his cricket bat, and bashed down the bathroom door to find her dying inside. | The cross-examination came after Mr. Pistorius finished answering Mr. Roux’s questions about what happened the night Ms. Steenkamp died: how he rushed to the bathroom on his stumps; how he fired four rounds at the bathroom door, thinking an intruder was in the house; how he was then unable to find Ms. Steenkamp, who he had believed was still in the bedroom; and how, crazed with panic, he put on his prosthetic legs, grabbed his cricket bat, and bashed down the bathroom door to find her dying inside. |
| Mr. Pistorius struggled to hold back sobs as he described carrying Ms. Steenkamp’s bleeding, broken body down the stairs. He called his neighbors and called an ambulance, he said, struggling fruitlessly to help Ms. Steenkamp breathe and stanch the blood pouring from her body. | Mr. Pistorius struggled to hold back sobs as he described carrying Ms. Steenkamp’s bleeding, broken body down the stairs. He called his neighbors and called an ambulance, he said, struggling fruitlessly to help Ms. Steenkamp breathe and stanch the blood pouring from her body. |
| But it was too late. “Reeva had already died whilst I was holding her,” he testified. Some hours later, he said, “I asked a policeman if I might wash my hands because the smell of the blood was making me throw up.” | But it was too late. “Reeva had already died whilst I was holding her,” he testified. Some hours later, he said, “I asked a policeman if I might wash my hands because the smell of the blood was making me throw up.” |
| As his testimony unfolded, June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, sat grim-faced in the courtroom, looking exhausted beyond measure, wearing a button with a photograph of her daughter on it. | As his testimony unfolded, June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, sat grim-faced in the courtroom, looking exhausted beyond measure, wearing a button with a photograph of her daughter on it. |
| The trial is expected to last into May. A judge and two judicial assessors are hearing the testimony and will render a verdict sometime after that; there are no jury trials in South Africa. | The trial is expected to last into May. A judge and two judicial assessors are hearing the testimony and will render a verdict sometime after that; there are no jury trials in South Africa. |
| At the end of the grueling day, Mr. Pistorius seemed completely undone, but Mr. Nel made it clear he was eager for more. “I’m not going to go away,” he said. | At the end of the grueling day, Mr. Pistorius seemed completely undone, but Mr. Nel made it clear he was eager for more. “I’m not going to go away,” he said. |