Thread: Pistorius: The Trial of the Decade

Roses are red, violets are glorious.
Don't creep up on Oscar Pistorious.

Oscar Pistorius 'tailoring evidence' says Gerrie Nel



Athlete Oscar Pistorius is "tailoring his evidence" at his murder trial, the prosecutor has said, as his cross-examination enters a second week.

"Your version of events is untrue," said prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

Mr Pistorius admits killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February last year, but says he fired his gun after mistaking her for an intruder.

Mr Nel argued Ms Steenkamp was trying to leave the South African star's house after an argument, when she was shot

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in the South Africa capital Pretoria says Mr Nel is trying to highlight apparent inconsistencies between Mr Pistorius' bail application and his evidence in court to show he is "tailoring his evidence" to suit the defence case, which he said had been "concocted".

On one occasion, when Mr Pistorius corrected Mr Nel, the prosecutor said this showed Mr Pistorius was a "stickler for detail" and yet on many aspects of the case, the athlete was being vague













The Olympic sprinter, a double amputee, has three times broken down in tears as he recounted the night of the killing.

On the third time, just before the lunch break, Mr Nel - known as "bull terrier" for his fierce style of questioning - suggested that Mr Pistorius was doing it on purpose

Earlier, Mr Nel again pressed Mr Pistorius on the moment he shot Ms Steenkamp.


Oscar Pistorius: The charges

• Pre-meditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp on 14 Feb 2013
• If found not guilty, the judge automatically considers a charge of culpable homicide, or manslaughter
• Discharging a firearm in public at Tasha's restaurant on 11 Jan 2013
• Discharging a firearm in public by firing it through a car sunroof on 30 Nov 2012
• Illegal possession of 0.38 ammunition

He denies all charges

The athlete, 27, said he had not intended to kill anyone.

"I fired out of fear," he said.

This prompted Mr Nel to say Mr Pistorius was changing his story from self-defence to saying he shot by accident.

The prosecutor said this was because the truth was: "You fired at Reeva."

"It's not true," Mr Pistorius replied, breaking into tears and prompting the court to briefly adjourn.

After the break, Mr Nel said that, as Mr Pistorius was trained to use firearms, the court could not accept he had fired by "mistake".

The prosecutor said the fact that a pair of Ms Steenkamp's jeans was lying on the bed showed that she was in the middle of getting dressed in order to leave Mr Pistorius' house when she was shot after the couple had argued.

This was denied by Mr Pistorius.

He also started sobbing as he recalled shouting at the burglars he thought were in his house.

When asked why he broke down, Mr Pistorius said: "I am traumatised" by the events of that night

The prosecutor also pointed to forensic evidence that showed Ms Steenkamp had eaten within a couple of hours of her death.

The athlete says the couple had last eaten together about 19:00, some eight hours before she was shot.

The athlete says there was no row and they had a quiet evening together, before he woke up on hearing a noise in the bathroom.

Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman scream, but the defence disputes their testimony.

The Olympic sprinter faces life imprisonment if convicted of murdering the 29-year-old model and law graduate.

If he is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.

Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, both of which he denies.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors

I remember the OJ and Louise Woodward trials being tellied but this prosecutor Nel is the most impressive of all, has the murderer lying and mumbling and the strange thing is OP thinks he can outgun him - big mistake.

but shouldnt pulbic prosecuters be allocated on a rota, taking the next murder case that comes up , rather than being allocated ?

Pisstorious hasn't got much of a defence has he , however he plays it, especially as he needs to beat the murder and manslaughter charge .

you think he will skip bail soon , or shoot himself ?

Originally Posted by blue

but shouldnt pulbic prosecuters be allocated on a rota, taking the next murder case that comes up , rather than being allocated ?
Pisstorious hasn't got much of a defence has he , however he plays it, especially as he needs to beat the murder and manslaughter charge .
you think he will skip bail soon , or shoot himself ?

Blue mate, OP is paying big money for the best defence he can get but let's face it, he is f*cked up againg this brilliant prosecutor ripping him to pieces.

I predict Oscar will have a very sore bottom in the near future, It's not like he can run away is it.

Originally Posted by terry57

I predict Oscar will have a very sore bottom in the near future, It's not like he can run away is it.

Its well known he used to enter races but when he gets banged up the races will surely be entering him, SA being a multi ethnic country with a horrific rape scene.
Oscar, you f*cked up big time.

Originally Posted by dobella

OP is paying big money for the best defence he can get

He has but keep in mind Oscar is only the first defense witness. We have only seen a small part of this legal circus. Many more acts to follow. Too soon to predict judgement. Watching with interest. He has posed a bunch of what if's and "why" did you do that questions but so far the pitbull has proven nothing. Let's see what his high paid lawyers do. Will make for interesting viewing.

How many people here have a magazine rack in their shit house ?
if you have time to read in there , then you may need to change your diet .
That prosecutor looks like the type to have a full bookcase in his bog

Originally Posted by blue

How many people here have a magazine rack in their shit house ?

How many people have a cricket bat in their bedroom?

Originally Posted by blue

if you have time to read in there , then you may need to change your diet .

I like to complete a game of 'Sukudo' before I throw in the tissue.

Here in SA there is no jury and the judge is obviously very, very intelligent so I think OP should just put his hands up and surrender his ridiculous responses to a superb lawyer Nel. -Oscar you twat thinking that night and thinking you about you could get away with that terrible act ?
Olympian does not give anyone a free to run card.

Oscar Pistorius trial: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel queries tears






Pistorius trial

• Cross-examination
• Week five round-up
• Pistorius 'close to disaster'
• 'Bull terrier' bites

The prosecutor at the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has suggested the South African athlete is using his emotions "as an escape".

He broke down in tears four times on Monday and has also vomited in court.

"Now you trying to be emotional and it's not working," said prosecutor Gerrie Nel


BBC News - Oscar Pistorius trial: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel queries tears

Originally Posted by koman

He shot her four times

He fired 4 bullets. Only 3 hit victim, so I recall.

I saw part of the trial.

It's obviously different form where I grew up.

And Pistorious kept saying "my lady" or "ma lady" to the male prosecutor.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the meaning of this?

The defendant normally addresses the judge when answering questions as they will be delivering the verdict. The judge in this case is female.

Oscar Pistorius trial sees Reeva Steenkamp Valentine's card



The Oscar Pistorius murder trial has seen a Valentine's card which his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp had intended to give him before he shot her dead.

The South African Olympic sprinter read the poem to the court after five days of gruelling cross-examination.

Earlier, he said he was "heartbroken" when he saw her body in the early hours of Valentine's Day last February.

Mr Pistorius denies murder, saying he fired through a door in fear, believing there was an intruder behind it.



Analysis Andrew Harding Africa correspondent

It has been exhausting just to watch Oscar Pistorius - doubled up on the ropes for hour after hour, heavy arms trying to fend off another clinical combination of lethal jabs and low blows from prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

As the athlete finally slinks wearily back across the court from the witness stand to the dock, he must know that the last five days have done him few favours in this trial.

He has been forgetful, evasive, agitated, uncertain, argumentative, and defiantly - some would say deliberately - ambiguous about some of the key issues at the heart of this murder trial. However well his forensic experts proceed to shore up his testimony in the coming days, his credibility has been damaged.

I have been fending off emails from members of the public anxious to unearth some "smoking gun" detail that can resolve this case once and for all.

But the reality, from my vantage point in the public gallery here, is that there is no "smoking gun" - besides the obviously literal one.

The prosecution says he deliberately shot dead Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, after the couple had had an argument.

He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Mr Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux presented to the court the Valentine card which Ms Steenkamp had got the athlete.

The double-amputee sprinter, 27, read it out in a trembling voice.

The front of the card reads: "Roses are red, violets are blue..."

Inside, she had written: "I think today is a good day to tell you that, I love you."
Ms Steenkamp was shot dead in the early hours of Valentine's Day - before they had opened each other's cards and gifts.

The athlete has previously told the court he only opened the card on Ms Steenkamp's birthday, in August 2013.

On the final day of his cross-examination, Mr Pistorius said that after shooting and realising Ms Steenkamp was not in the bedroom as he believed, he tried to break down the door with his shoulder, before using a cricket bat, all the time screaming in panic.

He said he stopped screaming when he finally opened the door and saw the body.
When the prosecutor asked why, he replied, his voice trembling with emotion: "I was heartbroken... overcome with sadness."



Oscar Pistorius said he only read the card several months after Reeva Steenkamp's death
"I crouched down over her... and I checked to see if she was breathing or if she had a pulse," he said.

But this was disputed by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

"You fired four shots through the door whilst knowing that she was standing behind the door," he said.

"She was locked into the bathroom and you armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her."

Mr Pistorius replied: "That is not true."

The athlete has previously said he and Ms Steenkamp had spent a quiet evening together before he woke up on hearing a noise in the bathroom.





Oscar Pistorius: "I heard her breathing... I immediately tried to pick her up"

During the cross-examination, Mr Pistorius broke down in tears on several occasions.

Mr Nel suggested that he was doing this on purpose when he was struggling to explain his actions.

Mr Pistorius has now ended his testimony.


Oscar Pistorius returned to the dock after ending his testimony




The court has been shown the toilet door through which Mr Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp
Forensic expert Roger Dixon was the next defence witness.

He told the court that with the light out, the room would have been almost completely dark, despite a couple of LED lights.

This supports Mr Pistorius' evidence that he did not see if Ms Steenkamp was still in bed when he got up.

The court also heard sound recordings Mr Dixon had made - of a cricket bat striking a door similar to that in Mr Pistorius' toilet, and another of gunshots fired through same door.

Mr Dixon seemed to struggle to tell the sounds apart, which the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Pretoria says the defence will use to cast doubt on what neighbours say they heard that night.

Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman scream followed by gun shots, but the defence disputes their testimony, saying the only scream came from Mr Pistorius - after he had fired.

Both prosecution and defence have asked the judge to postpone the case after Thursday's hearings until 5 May.

Mr Nel said members of his team were engaged in "more pressing" cases, which needed their attention, as well as "personal arrangements" over the Easter holidays.

The defence said the case should still finish on 16 May, as planned. The judge said she would deliver her judgement on this request on Wednesday

BBC News - Oscar Pistorius trial sees Reeva Steenkamp Valentine's card

Gerrie Nel has finished, Oscar go get tons of lube mate.

The reporters in the U.K press reported that Nel was bullying Oscar.

Originally Posted by wasabi

The reporters in the U.K press reported that Nel was bullying Oscar.

That female judge is so switched on that would never have happened, UK press ? say no more.

Originally Posted by blue

How many people here have a magazine rack in their shit house ?
if you have time to read in there , then you may need to change your diet .
That prosecutor looks like the type to have a full bookcase in his bog

This is very similar to the shithouse in my mil's place , the walls are about the same height albeit made of corrugated tin , oh and obviously there is no actual toilet so to speak ! Just a stinking fly infested hole in the ground . And definitely no magazine rack or cricket bat or any other fcuking creature comforts come to that .

Originally Posted by barbaro

Pistorious kept saying "my lady" or "ma lady" to the male prosecutor. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the meaning of this?

Cuz he's a great fan of 'Parker' from 'Thunderbirds'. Every time Pistorius says 'm'lady' I thing of 'Parker'.

Pistorius trial: Reeva Steenkamp shot in 'rapid fire'



The girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius was shot in quick succession as she fell down, a forensics expert has told the South African athlete's murder trial.

This differs from a police ballistics witness who said there was short break between the first and second shots.

Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp in early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

He says he fired rapidly in fear through the toilet door after he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder.

The prosecution says the 29-year-old model and law graduate was deliberately killed after the couple had an argument.

The double amputee Olympic and Paralympic athlete faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

The trial has been adjourned until Thursday, which will be the last day before a break; proceedings will resume on Monday 5 May

'Layman's understanding'

Forensics expert Roger Dixon, a defence witness, says Ms Steenkamp was standing at an angle to the door and that all four bullets hit her as fell to the ground.

Earlier in the trial, ballistics expert Captain Christiaan Mangena said he believed Ms Steenkamp was standing up facing the closed door when she was hit in the right hip.

He said she then fell back onto a magazine rack next to the toilet before three more bullets were fired at the door, one of which missed her.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in court says Mr Dixon's testimony challenges the state's version that Ms Steenkamp would have had time to scream after the first bullet and that Mr Pistorius then changed aim and continued firing.

On Tuesday, Mr Dixon told the court his tests showed that with the light out, Mr Pistorius' bedroom would have been almost completely dark on the evening of the shooting, despite a couple of LED lights.

This also supports Mr Pistorius' evidence that he did not see whether Ms Steenkamp was still in bed when he got up.

The court also heard sound recordings Mr Dixon had made - of a cricket bat striking a door similar to the one in Mr Pistorius' toilet, and of gunshots fired through the door at a distance of 60m (196ft) and 180m

Mr Dixon seemed to struggle to tell the sounds apart, which the defence will use to cast doubt on what neighbours say they heard that night, our correspondent says.

Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman scream followed by gun shots, but the defence disputes their testimony, saying the only scream came from Mr Pistorius - after he had fired

But prosecutor Gerrie Nel has sought to cast doubt on Mr Dixon's credibility and qualifications as a forensics witness during his cross examination on Wednesday.

However well his forensic experts proceed to shore up his testimony in the coming days, Mr Pistorius' credibility has been damaged”

Andrew Harding Africa correspondent


Mr Dixon is a geologist and university lecturer who worked as head of materials analysis at a police forensic laboratory in Pretoria for 18 years until 2012 and repeatedly said he was not a ballistics expert.

Mr Nel also sought to prove that he was out of his depth when he was testifying about marks on Ms Steenkamp's body.

He had identified one as a bruise which other pathologists had not, Mr Nel said.

At one stage Mr Dixon used the phrase "in my layman's understanding".

"Now you call yourself a layman. You see how irresponsible it is to make inferences that aren't in your area of expertise," Mr Nel replied.

Mr Dixon took the stand after seven days of testimony from the sprinter came to an end with him reading a Valentine's Day card from his girlfriend

BBC News - Pistorius trial: Reeva Steenkamp shot in 'rapid fire'

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by barbaro

Pistorious kept saying "my lady" or "ma lady" to the male prosecutor. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the meaning of this?

Cuz he's a great fan of 'Parker' from 'Thunderbirds'. Every time Pistorius says 'm'lady' I thing of 'Parker'.

Parker had a cockney accent, Lady Penelope spoke posh.