Oscar Trial: Nel continues questioning Petrus van Zyl

Van Zyl told the court he could not recall Pistorius asking him to arrange for his ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor to accompany him to the 2012 London Olympics.

This was after Nel showed him a copy of an e-mail to which Pistorius had attached a copy of Taylor’s passport along with a message that read “… Here is Sam’s passport, please keep it on file. Think we are sorting s*** out. Oz.”

Van Zyl said the passport was used for a trip to the Seychelles where the athlete and his partner had been invited by a television production company.

“I gave all the information to the company,” Van Zyl said.

On Tuesday he testified that Reeva Steenkamp was the only girlfriend Pistorius had asked Van Zyl to organise travel documents for, to accompany him to athletic events.

Nel read out a portion of a communication with Taylor in which Pistorius told her he wanted her to accompany him to London, after they had gone through a rough patch.

“I invited you to London because I knew you had my heart in your hands and wouldn’t let it go.”

In the extract Pistorius tells Taylor he had been trying very hard to get Van Zyl to organise for her to accompany him.

Van Zyl said he could not recall this.

“I can honestly not recall that I had to find Ms Taylor a ticket to the [London] Olympics.”

Pistorius is charged with murdering Steenkamp on February 14 last year.

He shot her through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, apparently thinking she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. She was struck in the hip, arm, and head.

After firing the shots, Pistorius used a cricket bat to break open the door to get to a dying Steenkamp.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and to three firearm-related charges.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.

– Sapa