Oscar Pistorius was an "appalling witness" who repeatedly lied in his testimony in a crude attempt to defend against a murder charge for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the chief prosecutor said today during closing arguments in the athlete's trial.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also harshly criticised the legal team of the double-amputee athlete, saying it floated more than one theory about what happened on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home. Defense lawyers, Nel said, had argued that Pistorius acted in self-defense, fearing an intruder was in the house, but also raised the possibility that he was not criminally responsible, accidentally shooting Steenkamp because he was "startled."
"It's two defenses that you can never reconcile," Nel said as Pistorius sat behind him in the dock. The once-celebrated athlete appeared calm, in contrast to some past occasions during which he retched and wailed in apparent distress.
The fathers of the Olympic runner and Steenkamp, a model and television personality, were in the Pretoria courthouse for the first time since the trial began in early March. They sat at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery. Pistorius is said to be estranged from his father, Henke, and Steenkamp's father, Barry, has been ill.
Pistorius' older brother Carl, who has regularly attended court sessions, was in an intensive care unit in a South African hospital and was on a ventilator because of injuries suffered in a serious car crash last week, the Pistorius family said in a statement.
Barry Roux, the chief defense lawyer, listened and checked files as Nel spoke for hours, occasionally urged by Judge Thokozile Masipa to speed it up, as he elaborated on the prosecution's written arguments of more than 100 pages that were submitted to the court last week. Roux will present his final arguments on Friday before Masipa adjourns the trial to deliberate with two legal assistants on a verdict.
The prosecution has argued that Pistorius intentionally shot Steenkamp before dawn on Feb 14, 2013 after a quarrel.
The defense has previously contended that he fired by mistake, thinking he was about to be attacked by an assailant in the toilet and that Steenkamp was in the bedroom.
Pistorius was vague in allegations that police had possibly tampered with evidence around the scene of the shooting, including fans and a bedcover strewn on the floor of his bedroom, according to Nel. It was also improbable that the athlete, in his version, rushed with his gun to investigate a purported sound in the bathroom without first trying to talk to Steenkamp and confirm that she was safe, the prosecutor said.
