Pistorius Murder 'Huge Mistake' as Verdict Due Next Month

Bloomberg News

The defense in Oscar Pistorius's murder trial said the athlete's shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year was a reflexive reaction to a noise that appeared to show an intruder was in the house.

Should the court agree the move was a reflex, then it means the Paralympian lacked cognitive capacity, defense lawyer Barry Roux, who is presenting final arguments, said today in the High Court in Pretoria, the capital. This may result in a lesser charge. If it says there was a thought process before he pulled the trigger, then 'you cannot ignore the reason for the shock' of the noise, he said.

Pistorius, 27, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. He has said he thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he fired four shots through a locked toilet cubicle door in a bathroom at his home. He later said he discharged the weapon in reaction to hearing a sound. The prosecution says he killed her after an argument and that there was no sound before he fired. The athlete would face a minimum of 25 years in jail if convicted of murder.

The state's version of the timeline of events on the morning of the shooting didn't make sense, Roux said. The court is unable to ignore that police investigators moved a fan and an extension cord, which was used by the prosecution to demonstrate Pistorius's movements shortly before the shooting, showing 'no respect' for the crime scene, he said.

'Question Mark'

'The failure of the state to present the other evidence leaves that one big question mark,' he said. 'The court must be as bold as to say, 'Well, I'm going to ignore that.' Don't come to court and protest an undisturbed scene and then cross-examine the accused as if that was the scene.'

While some neighbors who were state witnesses had said they heard a woman before and after gunshots, Roux said the court needed to be careful with the distinction between a male and a female voice, referring to evidence from other residents of the estate, who said they made out a man's voice.

Pistorius was at times an 'argumentative' witness, because he was facing questions that didn't represent 'the true facts,' Roux said.

Yesterday, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius had tailored his evidence.

'If one piece of the mosaic is moved, the rest have to move as well to keep the picture intact,' he said. 'What I'm trying to indicate to you' is 'the domino effect of lies,' Nel said.

Murderous Intent

Even if Judge Thokozile Masipa accepts that Pistorius acted in self-defense, the state argues the athlete 'can't escape' a finding 'at the very least' of intent through the legal concept of 'dolus eventualis,' where he foresaw the possibility that he may shoot and kill someone, Nel said.

Throughout the trial that started on March 3 and is now in its 41st day, Roux has portrayed Pistorius as a victim of crime who was in a loving relationship with Steenkamp, a model and television presenter.

'Go and look at every single Whatsapp message after Feb. 7 -- they quickly made up,' Roux said today. Nel had yesterday said the defense's case to demonstrate the couple's closeness wasn't compelling and referred to a message in which Steenkamp had said Pistorius was publicly critical of her.

Prosecutor Nel depicted Pistorius as a short-tempered gun lover who shot Steenkamp in a fit of rage.

The athlete has also pleaded not guilty to three separate gun-related charges.

Blade Runner

Masipa, who will give the final judgment in the case because South Africa doesn't have a jury system, could also consider a lesser charge of culpable homicide if she rules that the act wasn't intentional.

Masipa may take a month to return a verdict, said Marius du Toit, a criminal defense lawyer based in Pretoria. 'It might take even longer,' he said by phone on Aug. 4. 'Because of the importance of this case, we might get back in a month or two.'

Known as the Blade Runner because of his J-shaped prosthetic running blades, Pistorius has been free on 1 million rand ($93,000) bail since February last year.

The charges have derailed the running career of the winner of six Paralympic gold medals and cost Pistorius sponsorship deals with Nike Inc., Luxottica Group SpA's Oakley and Ossur hf, the Icelandic company that manufactures the blades he uses.

Pistorius was the first double amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren in Johannesburg at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net; Kevin Crowley in Johannesburg at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net Ana Monteiro, Vernon Wessels, Emily Bowers

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