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Pistorius’s father in court
Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius's father Henke was in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday for final arguments in his son's trial.
FILE PICTURE: Paralympian Oscar Pistorius makes a phone call before the start of court proceedings of his murder trial on Monday, 24 March 2014 at the high court in Pretoria. Pistorius is accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp whom he shot through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day last year. He claims that he mistook her for an intruder. Picture: Chris Collingridge/TheStar/Pool
He sat on the left-hand side of the court which was mostly occupied by the Pistorius family.
It was the first time that Pistorius’s father and Reeva Steenkamp’s father attended proceedings.
Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet at his Pretoria home. Pistorius has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel began making his closing arguments shortly before 9.30am.
The courtroom was packed to capacity for the proceedings, with the Pistorius and Steenkamp families, their friends, members of the public, and local and international media.
Pistorius cut a lone figure as he sat in the front of the court wearing his glasses, listening attentively to proceedings.
He is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act – one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
– Sapa
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