Oscar never changed his story
Oscar Pistorius has never changed his account of how he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, he said in his murder trial in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
FILE PICTURE: June, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, (2nd from L) looks on as paralympian Oscar Pistorius is cross-examined at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Wednesday, 9 April 2014. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/The Times/Pool
“My version never changed,” said Pistorius, under cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
“The State’s case has changed many times,” he added.
He said he had read the statements of over 100 witnesses on the time he “took Reeva’s life” on Valentine’s Day last year and there were some things he did not remember.
Switching the light on in the bathroom, calling security, carrying Steenkamp downstairs after he shot her dead in the toilet at his home were among them.
There had been no “reconstruction” of her death taking into account evidence he had seen or heard since then.
“I tendered my story to my counsel… my story hasn’t changed since then.”
He said he wanted to address the court during his bail application last year but he was told he would not cope.
There were “some aspects” he spoke about to his counsel that were not included in his bail statement.
Earlier, he was taken to task over comments on a SkyNews video that he made while at a shooting range.
“It’s not as soft as brains but fuck it’s a zombie stopper,” a person who sounds much like Pistorius is heard saying. The video found its way online.
He denied being the person laughing maniacally on the audio but said the quote was indeed him.
However, he felt it was not possible to compare an animated figure like a zombie, to a human being.
Speaking about the handgun and shotgun he was seen firing, he said the gun was designed to be used for trail-walking and in case an animal was encountered.
An adjournment was called after Nel asked Pistorius to look at a close-up of Steenkamp’s head after she was shot.
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 toilet door down.
She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.
The athlete is charged with the murder of Steenkamp and with contravening 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.
Pistorius has pleaded not guilty on all the charges.
– Sapa
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