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| Pistorius, Amid Persistent Cross-Examination, Testifies About Details of Shooting | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PRETORIA, South Africa — It came down to a question of improbabilities and a “great leap.” | PRETORIA, South Africa — It came down to a question of improbabilities and a “great leap.” |
| On Monday, the fourth day of relentless cross-examination at his murder trial, Oscar Pistorius was taken back to the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, when he shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in what the prosecution says was an act of premeditated murder and the track star Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee, says was a mistake. | On Monday, the fourth day of relentless cross-examination at his murder trial, Oscar Pistorius was taken back to the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, when he shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in what the prosecution says was an act of premeditated murder and the track star Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee, says was a mistake. |
| In close detail, the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, had Mr. Pistorius, 27, relive the final intimate moments of Ms. Steenkamp’s life, as the athlete walked unsteadily on his stumps down an unlit passage from his darkened bedroom, a pistol in his right hand, and into a bathroom where he fired four rounds at the locked door of a toilet cubicle, believing, by his account, that at least one intruder was behind the door. | |
| Then, Mr. Pistorius said, “I ran down the passage; I ran past my bed” to look for his girlfriend and call for help. | Then, Mr. Pistorius said, “I ran down the passage; I ran past my bed” to look for his girlfriend and call for help. |
| “When I realized that Reeva wasn’t on the bed, that was the first time I thought it might be Reeva in the bathroom,” Mr. Pistorius said. | “When I realized that Reeva wasn’t on the bed, that was the first time I thought it might be Reeva in the bathroom,” Mr. Pistorius said. |
| But, Mr. Nel said, the “first thing you would think is that you would check whether she left through the bedroom door” rather than assume she had been in the locked cubicle. | But, Mr. Nel said, the “first thing you would think is that you would check whether she left through the bedroom door” rather than assume she had been in the locked cubicle. |
| It required a “great leap” for Mr. Pistorius to go from believing that he had shot intruders to suspecting that he had opened fire on his girlfriend, said Mr. Nel, whose reputation as a pugnacious prosecutor has earned him the nickname pit bull. | It required a “great leap” for Mr. Pistorius to go from believing that he had shot intruders to suspecting that he had opened fire on his girlfriend, said Mr. Nel, whose reputation as a pugnacious prosecutor has earned him the nickname pit bull. |
| “You see, Mr. Pistorius, this is one of the most crucial issues that makes your version so improbable,” Mr. Nel said, seeking to establish that the athlete’s evidence on the stand was, in the prosecutor’s words on Monday, “so improbable that it cannot possibly be true.” | “You see, Mr. Pistorius, this is one of the most crucial issues that makes your version so improbable,” Mr. Nel said, seeking to establish that the athlete’s evidence on the stand was, in the prosecutor’s words on Monday, “so improbable that it cannot possibly be true.” |
| The exchanges went to the core of a case that has drawn a global audience and transfixed many in South Africa as the hearings, which opened on March 3, focus in ever greater detail on the state of Mr. Pistorius’s mind in the early hours on Valentine’s Day 2013, when, the prosecution maintains, he killed Ms. Steenkamp in a jealous rage. | The exchanges went to the core of a case that has drawn a global audience and transfixed many in South Africa as the hearings, which opened on March 3, focus in ever greater detail on the state of Mr. Pistorius’s mind in the early hours on Valentine’s Day 2013, when, the prosecution maintains, he killed Ms. Steenkamp in a jealous rage. |
| The spectacle of the trial also offered a stark counterpoint to the days of 2012 when Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee since infancy, not only triumphed at the Paralympic Games but also competed against able-bodied athletes at the London Olympics a month earlier, earning great adulation. On his return home, he and Ms. Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, were depicted as a gilded couple. | The spectacle of the trial also offered a stark counterpoint to the days of 2012 when Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee since infancy, not only triumphed at the Paralympic Games but also competed against able-bodied athletes at the London Olympics a month earlier, earning great adulation. On his return home, he and Ms. Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, were depicted as a gilded couple. |
| But that glittery trajectory of success and celebrity has collapsed. Headlines that once lauded Mr. Pistorius now focus on his increasing discomfort as a hard-nosed prosecutor sets out to paint a picture of inconsistency, improbability and mendacity. If convicted of premeditated murder, he would face a minimum prison term of 25 years. | |
| Twice during Monday’s questioning, Mr. Pistorius broke down, as he has several times in the trial, his shoulders heaving as he sobbed. On other occasions, his voice quavered as he testified and, ashen-faced, he seemed on the brink of tears. | Twice during Monday’s questioning, Mr. Pistorius broke down, as he has several times in the trial, his shoulders heaving as he sobbed. On other occasions, his voice quavered as he testified and, ashen-faced, he seemed on the brink of tears. |
| But his displays of deepening distress drew only a sarcastic question from Mr. Nel, who asked, “You are not using your emotional state as an escape, are you?” | But his displays of deepening distress drew only a sarcastic question from Mr. Nel, who asked, “You are not using your emotional state as an escape, are you?” |
| The prosecutor argued that forensic evidence linking the gunshots and Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds proved she had been standing in the cubicle facing the door when Mr. Pistorius opened fire. | The prosecutor argued that forensic evidence linking the gunshots and Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds proved she had been standing in the cubicle facing the door when Mr. Pistorius opened fire. |
| “She was talking to you,” Mr. Nel said. “Why would she be there except if she was talking to you?” | “She was talking to you,” Mr. Nel said. “Why would she be there except if she was talking to you?” |
| Mr. Pistorius said repeatedly that he had not known who was in the cubicle. “I didn’t fire to attack,” he said. “I didn’t have time to think.” | Mr. Pistorius said repeatedly that he had not known who was in the cubicle. “I didn’t fire to attack,” he said. “I didn’t have time to think.” |
| “You fired at Reeva,” Mr. Nel said bluntly. | “You fired at Reeva,” Mr. Nel said bluntly. |
| “I did not fire at Reeva,” Mr. Pistorius said in a choked, strained voice, seeming overwhelmed. The court adjourned briefly to permit him to compose himself. But when the session resumed, Mr. Nel’s insistent questions did, too, despite objections from the defense that the prosecutor was repeatedly going over old ground. | “I did not fire at Reeva,” Mr. Pistorius said in a choked, strained voice, seeming overwhelmed. The court adjourned briefly to permit him to compose himself. But when the session resumed, Mr. Nel’s insistent questions did, too, despite objections from the defense that the prosecutor was repeatedly going over old ground. |
| Why had Mr. Pistorius not warned the intruders that he was armed, he asked. “You were armed but you never said you were armed,” Mr. Nel said. | Why had Mr. Pistorius not warned the intruders that he was armed, he asked. “You were armed but you never said you were armed,” Mr. Nel said. |
| Mr. Pistorius replied that he had not wanted them to know. | Mr. Pistorius replied that he had not wanted them to know. |
| Why, then, had he fired, Mr. Nel asked. | Why, then, had he fired, Mr. Nel asked. |
| Mr. Pistorius said he had heard a sound like “wood moving,” perhaps when a door was opened or a magazine rack inside the cubicle was moved. “I wasn’t thinking,” he said. “I was screaming to the person or persons to get out.” | Mr. Pistorius said he had heard a sound like “wood moving,” perhaps when a door was opened or a magazine rack inside the cubicle was moved. “I wasn’t thinking,” he said. “I was screaming to the person or persons to get out.” |
| “You never gave them the chance,” Mr. Nel responded. “You said to them to get out, then never gave them the chance to do it.” | “You never gave them the chance,” Mr. Nel responded. “You said to them to get out, then never gave them the chance to do it.” |
| “I fired in quick succession,” Mr. Pistorius said. “I discharged my firearm as quickly as I could.” | “I fired in quick succession,” Mr. Pistorius said. “I discharged my firearm as quickly as I could.” |
| So “why did you only fire four rounds?” Mr. Nel asked. “Why not empty the magazine?” | So “why did you only fire four rounds?” Mr. Nel asked. “Why not empty the magazine?” |
| Was it just by luck, then, that the gun was pointed at Ms. Steenkamp, Mr. Nel asked. | Was it just by luck, then, that the gun was pointed at Ms. Steenkamp, Mr. Nel asked. |
| “How could that be lucky?” Mr. Pistorius asked, choking up. “She lost her life.” | “How could that be lucky?” Mr. Pistorius asked, choking up. “She lost her life.” |
| “Mr. Pistorius, you are trying to get emotional again,” Mr. Nel said, suggesting that the court adjourn for lunch. | “Mr. Pistorius, you are trying to get emotional again,” Mr. Nel said, suggesting that the court adjourn for lunch. |