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Post by Admin on Apr 11, 2014 22:10:41 GMT
Oscar Pistorius faced another day of relentless cross-examination Friday as the prosecution challenged his account of the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has accused the athlete of hiding the truth about the death of Steenkamp, whom he shot last year through a closed toilet door in his home in Pretoria, South Africa. His questions again sought to undermine Pistorius' reliability and credibility and to portray the Olympic athlete as someone who was inventing his version of events and "tailoring" evidence to suit his story. Pistorius said he thought he heard the toilet door opening before he fired. "I didn't intend to shoot. My firearm was pointed at the door because that's where I believed that somebody was," he said. "When I heard a noise, I didn't have to think, and I fired -- I fired my weapon. It was an accident." Nel, known in South African legal circles for his bulldog-like approach to cross-examination, responded to Pistorius' testimony almost with scorn. "Your version is so improbable that nobody would ever think that it was reasonably, possibly true," he said. Nel then hammered Pistorius on whether he had known Steenkamp was in the toilet when he fired. "You knew Reeva was behind the door, and you shot at her," Nel said more than once. "That's not true," Pistorius replied in a low tone. That dramatic moment was when Nel asked for the trial to be adjourned until Monday morning. The Pistorius family, in court, have also felt the blows landed by the State against their relative
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2014 21:15:41 GMT
Oscar Pistorius was quizzed Monday about a tweet he sent months before fatally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in which the Olympian discussed going into "full combat recon mode." Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius, who is accused of murder, seemed like a person in control of the situation as he approached his bathroom holding a firearm early on Feb. 14 last year. He asked about the tweet Pistorius sent in November 2012 but has since been deleted. He asked Pistorius to clarify what he meant. "Were you trained for combat mode?" the prosecutor asked. The sprinter said that he was not trained, but said that the phrase was a reference to discussions he had at firing ranges about what he would do "if there was a perceived danger, how you would go about clearing the room." Nel said: "I know you think that is a good answer, but being a trained person the court will expect you not to fire without reason... the court will not accept easily that you made a mistake." Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of Steenkamp at his luxury home. The athlete insists he shot the model and law graduate because he believed she was an intruder in the bathroom. Oscar Pistorius fires a weapon at a shooting range in a video shown to the court during his murder trial in Pretoria, South Africa.
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2014 22:00:12 GMT
Oscar Pistorius didn't consciously pull the trigger the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, the sprinter testified at his murder trial Tuesday. The Olympic and Paralympic athlete said he was "overcome with a sense of terror and vulnerability" before he shot through a closed bathroom door last year, fearing an intruder was inside. The Olympic and Paralympic athlete said he was "overcome with a sense of terror and vulnerability" before he shot through a closed bathroom door last year, fearing an intruder was inside. Defense attorney Barry Roux asked his client what he meant when he referred to the shooting as an "accident." "I mean the situation, and the situation as a whole, it wasn't meant to be," Pistorius said. Pistorius cried and his voice trembled as prosecutor Gerrie Nel challenged his account of what happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Nel asked who should be blamed for shooting his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013. "I'm not sure, my lady," Pistorius said, directing his answer to the judge. He repeatedly said he feared for his life and thought there was an intruder in his bathroom. A day earlier, Pistorius testified, "I blame myself for taking Reeva's life." Nel has accused Pistorius of "tailoring" his version of events to suit his story. He questioned Pistorius on details after the shooting that the athlete said he doesn't remember, such as what exactly he did with the gun immediately afterward and who connected his cell phone to a charger in the kitchen. The prosecution contends that Pistorius shot Steenkamp intentionally after a heated argument, which Pistorius has repeatedly denied. The defense ended its re-examination of Pistorius by giving the court a piece of evidence: the Valentine's Day card that Steenkamp wrote to Pistorius.
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Post by Admin on Apr 16, 2014 21:15:02 GMT
The prosecutor who grilled Oscar Pistorius for five days needed just one to put a serious dent in the credibility of a key defense witness. Gerrie Nel told witness Roger Dixon from the outset exactly what he was going to do to him. “Take it from me, I’m testing your integrity,” Nel said Wednesday at Pistorius’ murder trial. Then he went after Dixon, a former police forensics investigator turned geology professor, who was put on the stand to buttress the South African sprinter’s claim that he mistook girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp for a burglar when he killed her on Valentine’s Day 2013. Under questioning, Dixon admitted he had no expertise in analyzing blood spatters, or ballistics, or sounds — and that he never actually touched any of the physical evidence in the case. “I view myself as an expert because my testimony has been accepted in court a number of times,” Dixon said when Nel asked him what makes him an expert. Asked how he could question the testimony of prosecution experts about the horrific killing, Dixon said he relied on his “layman’s understanding.” “Now, Mr. Dixon, you call yourself a layman?” Nel said. “You gave the evidence, you were strong about it. Do you know how irresponsible it is to make inferences in areas where you’re not an expert?” Nel also took aim at Dixon’s assertion that the gunshots that witnesses testified they heard could have been mistaken for the sound of the cricket bat that Pistorius used to break down the door. Forensic expert Roger Dixon points at the door through which Reeva Steenkamp was shot, during the trial of Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius at North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
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Post by Admin on Apr 17, 2014 21:48:22 GMT
Roger Dixon, who during testimony on Wednesday had his credibility as a forensics expert all but destroyed by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, dealt a series of blows to Blade Runner’s defense, including the placement of objects in the bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed on Valentine’s Day 2013. The trial is set to resume on May 5. Supposed forensics expert witness Roger Dixon contradicted the athlete’s earlier testimony on the stand while being grilled by a prosecutor Thursday and appeared to be waving a white flag on Facebook. “Third day in court today,” he wrote. “Let’s see how much of my credibility, integrity and professional reputation is destroyed. It is difficult to get belief in those who will not listen because it is not what they want to hear. After that, beer!” Defense expert witness Roger Dixon holds a prosthesis during the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius. Dixon has been heavily grilled by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, eliciting damning concessions from regarding his credibility In court, pit bull prosecutor Gerrie Nel pounced when Dixon — an ex-police forensics investigator-turned-geology professor — insisted the magazine rack in the toilet cubicle where Pistorius’ girlfriend died was not where the South African sprinter said it was. “That is my version, milady,” Dixon replied. “If Mr. Pistorius’ version is different, that is his version.” Dixon was put on the stand to buttress Pistorius’ claim that he mistook the 29-year-old bikini model for a burglar when he fired four shots through the door of the toilet cubicle while she was inside. Nel quickly made Team Pistorius regret that decision.
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