JOHANNESBURG
South African State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel on Wednesday grilled internationally-recognized Paralympian Oscar Pistorious over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
"It's time that you look at it," Gerrie Nel said, producing a graphic photo of the slain model.
"I will not look at that picture because I was there," responded an emotional Pistorious, who is accused of murdering Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day (February 14) of last year.
But Nel sounded unmoved by the celebrated athlete's emotional state of mind.
The chief prosecutor shut down Pistorious when he said his life was on the line because of the murder accusations.
"But Reeva doesn’t have a life anymore," he said.
Pistorious insists that he shot at the bathroom door of his home, thinking an intruder had entered the house and not realizing his girlfriend was inside.
When he took the witness stand for the first time on Monday, Pistorious apologized for Steenkamp's family.
"There is no moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about the family," he said tearfully.
Wednesday was the third day for Pistorious to give testimony of what happened on that fateful night.
He told the court he had attempted to save his girlfriend's life.
"I pulled her out of the bathroom," Pistorious recalled.
"I saw her phone in the toilet; I tried to call for help but didn't have the password," he added.
His lawyer Barry Roux asked him if he had intended to kill his girlfriend.
"I did not intend to kill Reeva or anyone else, My Lady," Pistorious said addressing presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa.
Popularly known as the "Blade Runner," Pistoriouswas was born without the fibulas of both legs.
Before he was one year old, he had to have both lower limbs amputated.
In 2004, at the age of 17, he rose to fame after clinching a gold medal at the Athens Paralympics Games. The sprinter has since gone on to win several other medals.
Pistorious made history in 2012 by becoming the first amputee runner to compete in the Olympics.
By Hassan Isilow
englishnews@aa.com.tr
