ACCUSED of deliberately lying about killing Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius wavered under intense cross-examination yesterday.
Pistorius, spending a fifth day on the stand, was emotional as prosecutor Gerrie Nel tore into his versions of events, labelling his memory lapses as “impossible”.
“You cannot remember things Mr Pistorius because they did not happen. You are lying,” charged Nel.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year. The state believes she was killed during an argument, while Pistorius claims he mistook her for an intruder.
Nel repeatedly drilled Pistorius over the moments of the killing.
“You have shown us you are vulnerable on your stumps, yet despite this, you still approached the danger. There was an escape – the bedroom door – but you did not take it.
“Why Mr Pistorius, if, as you have testified, you were concerned for Reeva’s safety, not take her away from the danger?”
Pistorius said he did not know.
“What was your intention when you went down the passage towards the danger? We know you whispered to Reeva to get onto the floor and call the police, who you did not trust, as you earlier testified, so what were you intending when you approached this danger?
“Shoot someone? What would you have done if you saw someone standing in the bathroom? Shoot them?”
Pistorius shot back that he never intended to shoot anyone.
“But why approach the danger? Why, vulnerable as you are, take a loaded gun down the passage?”
“Because I wanted to be between the danger and Reeva.”
Nel said if that were true Pistorius would have ensured he knew Steenkamp’s whereabouts.
Pistorius said he was certain Steenkamp was still in bed because he had just spoken to her.
“But then when you were getting your gun, why did you not hear Steenkamp next to you?
“I will tell you why. Because it is not the truth. You invented this … .
“You never mentioned it in your bail application ... you didn’t see a need to ... why not make sure Reeva was fine? You had a gun, why not hide with her? You did what a reasonable person would not have done.
“You didn’t look for Reeva.
“You just grabbed the gun and rushed towards the danger ... ready to shoot,” said Nel
Pistorius insisted he was not ready to shoot.
“I wasn’t ready for anything. I didn’t think.”
“You released the gun’s safety, ready to shoot, ready to take someone’s life,” said Nel.
Pistorius said there was a “massive” difference between wanting to shoot and being ready to shoot.
“Your gun was pointing at the toilet door ... any movement you would have fired.
“Then you start screaming ... for Reeva to phone the police, for the people to get out your house, yet there was no response from Reeva. Why?”
Nel said this was the most improbable part of his version.
“She was less than three metres from you facing you behind the door. You knew she was there.
“You have said you shouted loudly enough for her to hear, yet no response. Correct?”
“Yes,” replied Pistorius
“She would have been scared ... shouted out to you.”
Pistorius said she “would not shout out if she thought the danger was coming to her.
“Mr Pistorius. She wasn’t scared of an intruder, she was scared of you.”
Proceedings continue on Monday.
Oscar’s grilling is far from over
Pistorius, spending a fifth day on the stand, was emotional as prosecutor Gerrie Nel tore into his versions of events, labelling his memory lapses as “impossible”.
“You cannot remember things Mr Pistorius because they did not happen. You are lying,” charged Nel.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year. The state believes she was killed during an argument, while Pistorius claims he mistook her for an intruder.
Nel repeatedly drilled Pistorius over the moments of the killing.
“You have shown us you are vulnerable on your stumps, yet despite this, you still approached the danger. There was an escape – the bedroom door – but you did not take it.
“Why Mr Pistorius, if, as you have testified, you were concerned for Reeva’s safety, not take her away from the danger?”
Pistorius said he did not know.
“What was your intention when you went down the passage towards the danger? We know you whispered to Reeva to get onto the floor and call the police, who you did not trust, as you earlier testified, so what were you intending when you approached this danger?
“Shoot someone? What would you have done if you saw someone standing in the bathroom? Shoot them?”
Pistorius shot back that he never intended to shoot anyone.
“But why approach the danger? Why, vulnerable as you are, take a loaded gun down the passage?”
“Because I wanted to be between the danger and Reeva.”
Nel said if that were true Pistorius would have ensured he knew Steenkamp’s whereabouts.
Pistorius said he was certain Steenkamp was still in bed because he had just spoken to her.
“But then when you were getting your gun, why did you not hear Steenkamp next to you?
“I will tell you why. Because it is not the truth. You invented this … .
“You never mentioned it in your bail application ... you didn’t see a need to ... why not make sure Reeva was fine? You had a gun, why not hide with her? You did what a reasonable person would not have done.
“You didn’t look for Reeva.
“You just grabbed the gun and rushed towards the danger ... ready to shoot,” said Nel
Pistorius insisted he was not ready to shoot.
“I wasn’t ready for anything. I didn’t think.”
“You released the gun’s safety, ready to shoot, ready to take someone’s life,” said Nel.
Pistorius said there was a “massive” difference between wanting to shoot and being ready to shoot.
“Your gun was pointing at the toilet door ... any movement you would have fired.
“Then you start screaming ... for Reeva to phone the police, for the people to get out your house, yet there was no response from Reeva. Why?”
Nel said this was the most improbable part of his version.
“She was less than three metres from you facing you behind the door. You knew she was there.
“You have said you shouted loudly enough for her to hear, yet no response. Correct?”
“Yes,” replied Pistorius
“She would have been scared ... shouted out to you.”
Pistorius said she “would not shout out if she thought the danger was coming to her.
“Mr Pistorius. She wasn’t scared of an intruder, she was scared of you.”
Proceedings continue on Monday.
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