Gerrie Nel begins attack on Oscar
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel began his cross-examination of Oscar Pistorius by confronting him with the fact that he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
FILE PICTURE: State prosecutor Gerrie Nel is seen during his cross examination of a pathologist during the Oscar Pistorius murder trial in Pretoria, Monday, 7 April 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013. Picture: Themba Hadebe/AP/Pool
“You made a mistake?” Nel snapped at him.
“You killed a person. You shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. Why don’t you take responsibility for that?”
Nel began with the statement: “Mr Pistorius you were and still are one of the most recognised faces in the world. You are a model for disabled and able-bodied sportsmen all over the world.”
Pistorius replied softly that this was the case before he made “a mistake”.
“Let us get to the truth,” Nel continued.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp, apparently thinking she was an intruder, through the locked door of his toilet on February 14 last year.
He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head. According to his bail application statement he then kicked at the door and smashed it open with his cricket bat.
The athlete is also charged with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013. On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.
– Sapa
