Prosecutors Portray Pistorius as Always Armed

Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial enters its second week today with the prosecution set to sharpen its portrayal of the Paralympian gold medalist as usually armed and reckless with a hair-trigger temper. Known as the Blade Runnerbecause of his J-shaped prosthetic running blades, double-amputee Pistorius admits shooting his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, three times on Valentine’s Day last year while she was in his bathroom, believing she was an intruder. Charged with premeditated murder, he’s been free on 1 million rand ($93,000) bail. At the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, defense attorney Barry Roux tried to discredit testimony of neighbors about the timing of screams and gunshots and of an ex-girlfriend who said Pistorius always had a gun next to his bed and carried one with him whenever he could. “He kept it on him all the time,” former girlfriend Samantha Taylor told the court on March 17. “He placed his firearm on his bedside table, or next to his legs on the floor.” On one occasion, she said, Pistorius was angered when a policeman stopped the car in which they were riding for speeding and emptied the magazine of a pistol that he had left on the seat. After they drove off, Pistorius fired a shot through the sunroof of the vehicle, she said. Roux said Pistorius never fired the gun in the car.

Gun Charges

Wearing a charcoal-colored suit today, Pistorius sat on the accused bench in the wood-paneled court. Presiding Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa will give final judgment after the scheduled three-week trial because South Africa doesn’t have a jury system. Pistorius is also facing three gun charges. Roux dispelled evidence of Pieter Baba, a security guard at the Silver Woods Country Estate where Pistorius lived, who testified Pistorius had initially said “everything is fine” when he spoke to him on the phone after neighbors had called for help. The athlete then called back and was crying, Baba said. The athlete called Baba first, phone records of the morning show, Roux said in court today. The court heard testimony last week that Pistorius sought to avoid blame when a gun went off in his hand at a restaurant in Johannesburg last year. Boxer Kevin Lerena told the court that he suffered a light graze on his toe when the gun fired as it was passed to Pistorius under the table at the restaurant. Pistorius asked the weapon’s owner to take responsibility for the incident, he said.

Covers Ears

When radiologist Johan Stipp, a neighbor, recalled arriving at the scene of the murder and finding the athlete kneeling over Steenkamp’s body, crying and trying to revive her, Pistorius put his hands over his ears. Roux has argued that the screams neighbors heard were those of Pistorius after he realized he had shot Steenkamp through the toilet cubicle door, and that some of the gunshots they recalled were the noise of the accused breaking down the locked door with a cricket bat. The prosecution says Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp at 3:17 a.m. after an argument, during which she screamed for help. “I heard the boom boom boom,” Stipp said in cross-examination. “I didn’t hear any screaming after that.” Roux said he will call an expert to testify that Pistorius’s voice resembles that of a woman when he’s anxious. Taylor testified she had only heard Pistorius scream in anger, and it sounded like a man’s voice.

Olympic Games

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel may call more than 100 witnesses. About 20 people who live or work near Pistorius’s home in the capital city may give testimony in a trial broadcast live on radio and TV. Apart from the murder charge, Pistorius faces two counts of illegally firing a gun in public and one of illegally possessing ammunition. The charges have derailed the running career of the winner of six Paralympic gold medals and cost Pistorius sponsorship deals with Nike Inc. (NKE) and Luxottica Group SpA’s (LUX) Oakley. He was the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics Games in London in 2012. Source :  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-09/prosecutors-portray-pistorius-as-always-armed.html