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AS IT HAPPENED: Day 20 - Pistorius on trial

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Get the latest updates from Day 20 of Oscar Pistorius's murder trial here.

Watch a summary of day 20’s proceedings here.



15:25 - We're closing updates now. See photos from today here.


15:10 - Pistorius on Thursday claimed he did not remember firing four shots into a door in the deadly volley that killed Reeva Steenkamp, Sapa reports.

He also told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that he never touched the trigger of a Glock pistol that went off in his hand in a restaurant a few weeks earlier.

The double-amputee Olympic runner insisted his girlfriend's death was an accident, as he was cross-examined by State prosecutor Gerrie Nel for a second day in his murder trial.

"I was later told there were four shots," he told Nel.

"You can't remember how many, but you can remember it was in quick succession?" Nel asked.
Nel reminded him that in his evidence-in-chief Pistorius said: "I fired four shots at the door."

"Do I remember firing four shots at the door? No, I don't... I remember pulling the trigger and rounds going into the door," Pistorius said.


15:04 - "Pistorius seemed more composed today but is now sitting on a chair against the wall with head buried in his hand and arm around Aimee," tweets the Guardian David Smith.


15:00 - Court adjourns. Back tomorrow (Friday) at 09:30. Watch a full summary of day 20's court proceedings here:



Subscribe to News24's YouTube channel here for all our latest news videos.


14:59 - Nel summing up what's been established, according to OP's version of events, that police allegedly moved items before taking photo.

14:58 - That's misleading the court, OP snaps back at Nel's interpretation of another photo.


14:57 -  Nel: Your version is so improbable that nobody would ever think it's reasonably possible.


14:56 - Pistorius pointing to the screen and arguing that the cord would be long enough.

Nel: You keep trying, Mr Pistorius... OP and Nel agree to move on from this point.


14:55 - Nel on length of fan cord: "Look at it, Mr Pistorius, I put it to you that it's not so."


14:54 - Nel: if you moved that fan to where the duvet is, the cord would not reach.

OP explain that the extension cord is long enough.


14:53 - Nel: The most amazing thing is, when we showed you these pictures yesterday you did not say anything. Pistorius: I'm not sure...

OP must be really familiar with that spot in the corner by now.


14:52 - Pistorius: when I went out onto balcony, both doors were open...


14:51 - Pistorius: if I'd opened door to go out onto balcony, the fan would have been in the way, the fan was facing bed, where the duvet is now.


14:50 - Pistorius: My prosthetic legs were exactly where this fan is, that's why it couldn't possibly have been there...


14:48 - Nel asks if OP didn't switch the light on when he went to get his prosthesis. I didn't think of switching al ight on, my thought was to get to Reeva.

Nel points out that the police had no idea what OP's version of events were when things were moved.


14:48 - OP: I don't remember switching the light on... I can't categorically say it was off.


14:47 - This photo was taken at 05:58, Nel tell OP after he says he doesn't know when photo was taken.


14:46 - Nel: "They didn't do it because they knew your version." OP: "You can go through the photos, things were in other places."


14:46 - Nel: So a policeman moved the fan. Why would the police do all this?


14:45 - Nel asks OP what else should be there in the photo. "I don't want to catch you out, I'm going to help you," Nel says.


14:44 - Nel to OP: "The only reasonable inference is the deceased ran screaming from there; that's why we heard screams."


14:44 - Roux objects saying no evidence was led about an argument. Nel says the state has the circumstantial evidence to prove this.


14:42 - Nel says he is building argument to show Reeva ran away screaming in those early hours of Valentine's Day.


14:41 - There were many things that were moved here, the fan was one of them, says OP. Nel: Nobody moved anything.


14:41 - Nel tells OP that his version is a lie because it means officers would've had to move duvet, fans, curtains in room.


14:39 - "OP takes a good look at a photo of his room. Oh, if the fan was there, I wouldn't have been able to run to call for help. Oh," tweets Nastasya Tay.


14:38 - You see, Mr Pistorius, your version is a LIE, Nel tells OP.

Nel says Oscar Pistorius never went out on to the balcony - after OP sees a fan in front of the door, it would have blocked him.


14:37 - The athlete says the duvet was on the bed after shooting, when he put his prosthetic legs back on


14:36 - Nel pushes OP to concede that if she'd got out of bed on her side, he would probably have seen her.


14:35 - Nel: If she got out on the right hand side of the bed you would have seen her... So let's cut that...


14:35 - I don't know where she climbed out of the bed. I don't know where or how she got out of the bed. - OP


14:33 - Nel asks again if he saw Reeva when he woke up. OP: I saw Reeva with her legs under the duvet when I got up. 


14:32 - You are adapting your version, Nel tells OP. You first say your hands were covering your face, then you say you could see the duvet over her legs.


14:32 - Nel wants to know how he knows Reeva had the duvet over the bottom part of her legs if he couldn't see.


14:30 - OP says the duvet was over the bottom part of her legs and I didn't have it on me, OP appears to remember. Nel: That's interesting...


14:30 - OP: I do believe the duvet wasn't on the floor.


14:29 - Nel refers to (police officerphotographer) Van Staden’s evidence that he was the first to go upstairs and he found the duvet on the floor.


14:28 - Oldwadge makes a sound. Nel: "If Mr Oldwadge wants to make an objection, he should get up." Masipa tells Oldwadge it is not proper.


14:26 - Carl Pistorius shrugs his shoulders at this point. OP quotes from investigating officer Hilton Botha statement, in which he says in Afrikaans that bedding was on one side of bed. 


14:25 - Nel shows OP a police photo of the athlete's bedroom.The duvet is on the floor. OP says he doesn't know how or why the duvet is on the floor because it wasn't there before.


14:23 - OP: I picked up the jeans. I could see them in the light from the amplifier. I picked them up from the floor.


14:21 - OP: It was pitch black and I wasn't facing the bed, so not strange I didn't see her. The fans were blowing in my face. 

I don't know when she got up, says OP. He says at this point, he's facing the TV cabinet and he could barely see anything.
OP is getting increasingly irritable with Nel. He seems annoyed with having to go over these details.


14:21 - Nel: Why didn't you see Reeva get up? She's maximum 2m from you. OP: I don't know how she got out of bed and got to bathroom.


14:20 -  Nel asking if there was anything in the way when he was trying to close curtains and doors. OP says several times, no. 


14:19 - After bringing fans in, OP closed curtains and sliding doors. Says it wasn't difficult to close. Presume he was on stumps at this stage.


14:19 - Nel: First you moved the larger fan, then the smaller fan, then you closed the door and locked it? OP: That is correct.


14:18 - Nel: when you woke up you could see Reeva? OP: I had my head in my hands.


14:17 - There was enough light when the curtains were open to pick up the fans from the floor, says OP. Nel asks if he saw Reeva. I didn't look, says OP.


14:16 - OP confirms it was Reeva who spoke first. She said: "Can't you sleep, baba?" Nel: You never discussed why she didn't bring in fans?


14:16 - I woke up later because it was humid and hot. I rubbed my face. Reeva asked if I could sleep. I couldn’t, says OP.


14:14 - OP " is still refusing to look at Nel. Since yesterday he has been staring straight ahead and never once at Nel", tweets SABC reporter Jacques Steenkamp


14:14 - This is the third time now I've said I was on my iPad, OP tells Nel.  


14:13 - OP says they were showing each other their five favourite dream cars.


14:12 -  OP: I said to Reeva I was falling asleep. She was showing me pictures. I asked her to bring in the fans when she was done.


14:11 - OP: I put the fan in the way I described... tripod fan with feet on balcony, small one between feet. I put my prostheses next to the bed... They were lying flat, one on top of the other. Reeva was watching TV, looking at pictures on her phone.


14:10 - OP says he wouldn't get into bed to face away from Reeva hence choosing left hand side while shoulder sore.


14:09 - When Reeva wasn't sleeping in my house, I may have slept in the middle or the right side of the bed - OP


14:08 - Reeva then went to the bathroom. I went to brush my teeth, says OP. He says he went to bed and laid down on the left side of the bed. Not normal, he says, but he had a shoulder injury.


14:07 - At this time, Reeva was doing stretches (or yoga as he said before).


14:06 -  Pistorius doesn’t think its possible Reeva got up at night and went downstairs to eat without him knowing.
Nel: Upstairs in your room you were busy on your iPad surfing the net, and you later made a call to someone? OP: I called my cousin.


14:06 - Nel: that was roughly seven hours before she was killed? OP: Eight hours...


14:05 - OP says he and Reeva had chicken stir fry that night for dinner.


14:04 - " I chatted with Reeva, went upstairs, came down and had dinner," says OP. This was just after he arrived home after 18:00 on 13 February last year.


14:03 - Try and think of the reconstruction and what actually happened, Nel advises OP. He says he'll try. 


14:03 - OP: I remember going to sleep, getting my firearm but I don't remember the four shots - difficult to know now what memory is my own.


14:02 - Nel says he wants OP to tell the court what he can remember, not reconstruction. 


14:02 - Court resumes. 


13:59 - In case you missed it earlier, Pistorius has accused his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, and a friend of lying under oath. Read more here.


13:16 - June Steenkamp in court earlier today. (Marco Longari, AFP) See more photos here.


13:05 - From Wednesday: Watch what happened when State Advocate Gerrie Nel cross-examined Oscar Pistorius as the paralympian took the stand for the third day in the North Gauteng High Court. 


13:00 - 


12:55 - Court adjourns for lunch. And OP's in tears again, it sounds. 


12:54 - A highly emotional OP says he's confused. He didn't intend to shoot, he says. His voice is quavering. It was an accident, he says.


12:53 - Why did you fire, Nel asks. OP says because he thought there was an intruder in the toilet. A threat.


12:52 - Nel peppers Pistorius with a string of "we know for a fact" questions. "We know for a fact that Reeva wasn't a threat..." 


12:51 - If you waited, you would not have fired, Nel asks. Am I right, he asks. If Reeva had spoken, I wouldn't have fired. 


12:51 - OP confirms he didn't want to shoot at what he thought was robbers in the toilet.


12:50 - Nel asks slowly: You never wanted to shoot at robbers in the bathroom?

What I said was that the noise from the bathroom made me pull the trigger, OP tells court.


12:49 - Nel repeats question from Wednesday: Did you fire at the door intentionally? OP repeats answer: I never meant to pull the trigger.

Emotion starts creeping into OP's voice again.


12:48 - Did you hear or see the rounds go into the door, Nel asks. OP says that's where the gun was pointed.


12:48 - Do I remember firing four shots? No, I don't. I remember firing at the door. I never said I don't remember firing at the door, says OP. 


12:47 - Pistorius: I don't remember how many shots I fired, I fired in quick succession. Nel asks how he can remember one thing and not the other.


12:46 - Nel says OP's evidence was: 'Before I knew it I had fired four shots at door. My ears were ringing.'


12:45 - You don't remember how many but you remember quick succession? - Nel. OP says yes.


12:44 - I remember it being four shots in quick succession. I remember firing shots, I was later told it was four shots, says OP.


12:43 - Why would Roux put to Mangena that it was two double taps? OP says he's not sure. He corrected Roux.


12:42 - Nel asks about shooting Reeva. "How did you shoot? Was it two double taps?" OP says it was four shots in quick succession. Definitely not two double taps.


12:41 - OP  says Fresco was wrong when he said he had his gun 'between his legs' whilst they were driving. 'It didn't happen'.


12:39 - Nel laughs at OP's claim that he doesn't remember who told him that Fresco and Taylor communicate. Apologises to court. Judge warns those in the gallery not to laugh either as "this is not entertainment".


12:38 - Nel says Taylor and Fresco have been in communication. OP says they have. Roux must have "let slip" in not asking them this during his cross-examination of them.


12:37 - Nel: You are not willing to concede anything. OP: I have conceded on several occasions.


12:37 - You are not willing to concede… or take responsibility for… anything, says Nel. Is that a question? asks OP.Yes, snaps Nel.


12:36 - Nel: Fresco must also be making it up? OP: that's what they both say, but they don't agree on how, why, where...


12:35 - OP says he can't remember anyone going with him (to Beare/ Behr's house). Nel says two other people went with OP to sign papers.


12:33 - Nel: Taylor said you met someone to sign gun papers. Are you saying she is lying about that day? OP: Yes


12:32 -  I don't remember being at Behr with anyone...I recall Taylor said we went someplace to the Vaal - OP


12:31 - Nel: you can't remember having gone to Behr... has Samantha ever gone there? OP: not sure if it was his house where we met.


12:29 - Pistorius: can’t remembering having gone to Bear (Oscar Trial Channel has the spelling as Behr) after the Vaal. Nel: and if there is a photo of you with him on that day?


12:28 -  Nel asks about a Mr Bear (will confirm spelling) who helped Oscar obtained his gun collector’s licence.


12:27 - OP: I thought he said it in a violent manner, it made me agitated, I ignored him and looked for the dropped round...

Nel: you then left that spot, they'd dealt with Fresco...you were still agitated with the policeman?


12:26 - He said "do you know what I can do with this gun?" in a violent manner, OP says. Why would he do that if he can confiscate the gun, asks Nel. 


12:26 - OP claims policeman said to him "do you know what I can do with this gun?" He says policeman's manner was aggressive.


12:25 - Nel: For the policeman to be able to do that, he'd have to disengage the safety.

OP: that's right.


12:24 - OP acknowledges that the firearm would have been one-up while they were on the boat earlier at the Vaal..


12:23 - OP: He ejected the round from the chamber, let magazine fall, threw firearm onto front seat...


12:22 - Nel to OP: "I know it's easy to be wise after the event but that policeman was within his rights to confiscate the gun."


12:20 - OP says he left his gun in the car when police approached after day at the Vaal. He admits he shouldn't have left he gun in the car.

"Reeva's mother June leaves the courtroom, bowing gently to the judge as she does so," the BBC's Andrew Harding says.


12:19 - OP confirms he had his own gun with him at the Tasha's incident. He carries it for his safety.


12:18 - He now tells Nel the gun would have been in a holster on his shorts. If I had a shirt on it wouldn't have been visible. I can't actually comment on this because I don't remember, OP says with frustration clear in his tone.


12:18 - OP getting a bit irritated with this line of questioning says "I don't remember".


12:17 - Nel: If you were wearing shorts, your gun must have been visible. OP says he has a holster.


12:16 - Nel asks where OP's gun was. The athlete, saying the incident was two years ago, doesn't remember. Nel says this isn't good enough.


12:15 - Nel, his hands over his eyes, fingers rubbing his temples, asks about that day at the Vaal. 


12:14 - OP didn't see it as being negligent as there was no one there who would handle my firearm. Nel sniggers. It's the strangest day today (referring to OP's testimony thus far), you don't take responsibility for anything, he tells OP. 


12:13 - I jumped into the water and the gun was in a towel on the boat, says OP. Nel: You don't think that was negligent? A loaded firearm with one up?


12:12 - Nel: At the function, on the boat, why did you take your gun? OP: I carried my firearm wherever I was. I didn't want to leave it at the house when there was nobody there so I took it with me.


12:11 - Nel moves onto the trip to the Vaal - shooting out the sunroof.Sam Taylor and Darren Fresco were there.


12:09 - Nel returns to the firearm competency exam OP did.


12:08 - Asked about father's affidavit, OP talks about how police didn't keep a register of items taken from his safe.


12:07 - Nel: Did anyone tell you that your father did not sign a statement to say that that was his ammunition?


12:06 - OP says after he was released on bail he slept, did not meet anyone, or socialise…


12:05 - Nel tells OP: This is the second time today. First we had the miraculous discharge of a gun. Now when I say it's illegal, you won't accept it.


12:05 - 


12:04 - If I tell you it's illegal to have your father's ammo in your possession (in your safe) would you plead guilty. OP: I can't say that I would. I can't say that I'd change my plea.


12:03 - I'm sure there were a couple of occasions when I forgot, OP says. Nel: I'm dealing with your negligence as a firearm owner.


12:02 - OP says he put it in the safe when he was not at home. Nel: The record will speak for itself.

Sounds like OP is returning to his spot in the corner.


12:01 - Pistorius concedes that he kept an extra magazine in his bedside table at all times. Nel tells him that this is illegal and negligent.


12:01 - Nel: "You kept an extra magazine in your bedside table at all times, whether you were there or not. And you had safes where you could put it?"


11:59 - My understanding of the law is if I have ammunition I can place it in a safe for safekeeping, OP says.


11:58 - OP: When I discussed this charge with Roux, he confirmed by understanding...


11:57 - I don't understand why you're pleading not guilty, you don't want to take responsibility, Nel says.


11:56 - OP confirms he comes from a family who owns lots of guns.


11:55 - OP: He confirmed my understanding. Nel: This is the third time you are blaming your legal team


11:55 - Nel: Are you telling me Mr Roux told you you were allowed to keep your father's ammunition in your safe if you're not a licence holder?


11:54 - Nel refers to OP’s competency test dealing with handling ammunition.


11:52 -  Nel: Why were you keeping his ammunition in your safe then? OP: He asked I and I said he could.


11:51 - You know your father refused to make a statement in this case? OP: I didn't know.

His dad's ammunition is in OP's safe. But OP says he hasn't communicated with his father in several years.


11:51 - Did you keep ammunition in a safe where several people had access to it? OP: That's correct.


11:50 - OP also doesn't believe Reeva was scared of him. Nel: that's not what the whatsapp would say...


11:49 - OP admits he's had arguments with Reeva in the past. I don't remember the other times. If there was, says OP.


11:48 - Nel: You said Gina was the reason you were late. If there was a burst pipe you had to discuss with a friend would you remember?


11:47 - OP says he was late for Fresco party because he had to pick up Reeva's friend Gina Myers.


11:45 - Nel points out that OP made mistake by saying day referred to in message was a Saturday. It was a Sunday, says Nel. OP says he had training and had to get lunch. "I train every day of the week," says OP. 


11:43 - Nel says he unfortunately has to go back to the Whatsapp messages because he's picked something up.

OP slowly files through exhibit ZZ to which Nel is referring. Trying to find specific part in question.


11:42 - I went to the shooting range on several occasions, says OP. 


11:41 - OP says he carries his gun with a full magazine. My gun has a double safety mechanism. 


11:40 - You are lying. You fired that gun, Nel points out to OP.


11:40 - Nel: That was a good example of you not taking responsibility for what you did.


11:38 - You didn't even want the truth to be in the media, Nel says. OP confirms this.


11:38 - OP: I didn't want to be associated (with incident). This is something I wouldn't want in the media.


11:37 - OP says he didn't want Reeva to tell anyone about incident because it would get out into the media and it would be reported in a way "that didn't happen".


11:36 - Nel: Did you say 'the gun went off on it's own'...did you say that? OP: I handed the gun back...


11:35 - Nel still on the Tasha's incident. Nel says he would've expected OP to say the gun went off on its own - what happened. Did you?


11:35 - Court resumes. 


11:32 - It was bound to happen - there's a Gerrie Nel rap. Yo.


11:21 - 


11:14 - Nel asks for tea break. Court adjourns. 


11:13 - "I didn't have time to think, that's your defence," Nel says to OP.


11:13 - "I should have checked first if there was a magazine in the firearm. It was stupid on my behalf, reckless on my behalf."


11:12 - Pistorius: I didn’t check for the magazine. I should have. It was my mistake.


11:10 - While I was trying to make the firearm safe, it went off, OP says. OP explains how, in trying to make gun safe, he accidentally "cocked" it and put new bullet into chamber.


11:10 - OP sticks to his story that his finger was not on the trigger. Nel asked him to concede when presented with facts.


11:08 - I cannot say that my finger was on the trigger. I can't say perhaps my finger was on the trigger. I know my finger wasn't on the trigger, OP insists. 


11:07 - I'm not going to move away from this so easily, I know you want me to... There's something deeper here... Nel says.


11:07 - OP says it did bother him that the gun went off on its own. The incident bothered me, he says.


11:06 - Nel: did you discuss it with Rens? Did it bother you that the firearm went off on its own?


11:05 - OP: I know what I said...I didn't elaborate why I said it was my fault, but offered to pay for the damages.


11:03 - OP says he completely took the blame for incident, he paid the bill and was willing to pay for any damages.

Nel:This is amazing.


11:02 - OP: I can't say my finger was on the trigger when it wasn't on the trigger.

Nel: But you can't explain how the shot went off?


11:01 - Nel: This is amazing...


11:00 - Who pulled that trigger, Nel asks. I don't know says OP. You had the gun in your hand, no one else touched that gun, says Nel. OP agrees. But he still claims he's not sure who pulled the trigger.

Yep, OP is in a corner.


10:59 - I know Mr Roux, he wouldn't make that kind of mistake, says Nel.

Notice how Roux hasn't yet made a challenge to this line of questioning.


10:57 - OP says he's not sure if Roux made a mistake by not asking Mangena about this kind of firearm to discharge without the trigger being pulled. 

Sounds to me as if OP's backed himself into a bit of a corner.


10:57 - Nel: Mangena says it is impossible for this kind of firearm to discharge without the trigger being pulled.


10:56 -  I grew up in a family where both my parents carried firearms, OP says.


10:55 - OP says he was applying for a gun collectors' license, which would allow him to own up to 30 guns.


10:54 - Nel: Why did you want to see firearm? OP: Was looking to buy one of those.


10:53 - Nel: "You're a man with an unbelievable eye for detail and fine detail. Why can you not remember what happened to the cartridge?" OP: "The bullet fell onto the chair."


10:52 - Nel: You had gun when shot went off. What happened to ejected bullet. OP: Loupis phoned Fresco or Lerina and told them he found it.


10:51 - We know you had the gun when the shot went off, Nel says.


10:50 - Nel: Fresco was negligent in that restaurant. OP: We were both negligent.


10:49 - You refuse to take responsibility for anything, Nel tells OP.


10:48 - So who did, Nel asks. OP explains... he says the gun went off as he was trying to make it safe. 


10:47 - Nel: Did you have your finger on the trigger or not? OP says no. Nel: I see, I see...


10:46 - Nel now moves onto Tasha's restaurant shooting. He wants to know why OP pleaded not guilty. OP claims he didn't discharge the gun. He didn't have his finger on the trigger.


10:46 - OP says he didn't treat Reeva badly. "She was a person who stood up for herself. If I treated her badly she wouldn't be with me."


10:45 - She shouldn't have been treated anything less than a lady and that was my fault for not doing that, says OP as his voice rises a tad.


10:44 - Lyrics from that Kendrick Lamar song: "I am a sinner/ Who's probably gonna sin again/ Lord forgive me/ Sometimes I need to be alone/ Bitch don't kill my vibe"


10:42 - OP says only two people, a couple, heard argument between him and Reeva in the parking lot at event.

Nel says message reveals OP criticised Reeva for second time in two weeks.


10:40 - Nel moves to the message on 7 February, where Reeva says she didn’t feel like a lady that evening.

Nel is referring to an event the couple went to. He wanted to leave while she stayed and spoke to people.


10:40 - Nel: After what happened at that party, if a song like Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe was played, anyone would get upset. OP: I didn't play song.


10:37 - Sometimes I felt I was in the wrong, sometimes her. As it was with her. Nel admits to not knowing singer Kendrick Lamar. Asks if Reeva referred to the song Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe.


10:36 - Nel: it was all about you...I'm sorry BUT you're also to blame... Pistorius: we were trying to sort things out.


10:36 - OP: My response shows that I was trying to sort things out.


10:35 - OP: On both sides there were plans that didn't go according to plan...that would be correct what Mr Nel is putting it...


10:34 - A sound goes off again, Nel smiles. Will the judge stop proceedings? It seems not.


10:32 - Nel says he never takes blame, never says its his fault.


10:31 - Nel smiles as audio is heard in court. Roux apologises as it was the cellphone of someone on his team. Judge makes the person in question stand up and apologise to the court.


10:30 - Nel: You are replying to her heartfelt Whatsapp - you blame her. 


10:29 - Nel says in OP's message to Reeva, he was blaming her for incident during which she got upset. When they were in a car and a song was playing. "You're replying to her unhappiness but you're blaming her."


10:28 - OP: "I felt the way she was talking to this person, she obviously knew him very well, and my feelings were hurt."


10:25 - OP's message to Reeva:



10:24 - You were upset because you were excluded from this conversation (that Reeva was having with another man at an event), Nel says. OP says he would loved to have been apart of conversation.


10:23 - Nel now reads a message from OP to Reeva. There's an apology but he says he was also upset that she was talking to someone and she didn't introduce him. 


10:22 - OP: I don't know if it was humiliating, but it did make her unhappy...she took offence .


10:21 - All these things you said to her (telling her to stop chewing gum, etc), it was experienced by her as humiliating, Nel says to OP. 


10:20 - Nel: "She says everything that was important to YOU messed up her day. You. YOU."

Nel: "What's important to her didn't matter..." OP: "That's how she interpreted it."


10:19 - Criminologist Liza Grobler says Oscar Pistorius's tears are primarily for the life he's lost and not for Reeva Steenkamp. Watch.


10:18 - Nel now asks about when Reeva mentioned that he told her to stop chewing gum. OP says it wasn't that he snapped at her, he told her it doesn't look good on camera (they were at an event). 


10:17 - Nel again tells OP he makes it all about him, he's selfish.


10:15 - Nel asks if OP was irritated by Reeva's accent, her voice. He says he was. He says the day before the message, they were having a meal and she was talking in an accent, it annoyed him and he asked her not to do it.


10:15 - "At least in Reeva's mind, on 27 January, that is how she felt about your relationship," Nel says.


10:13 - Reeva says she was sidelined whenever OP was upset. He doesn't understand that. He says when he's upset it's usually after training.

OP's sister, Aimee, has a hurt expression on her face as she watches her brother being cross-examined.


10:12 - I was upset that she mentioned that she loved me, she wanted to say it to me, says OP.


10:10 - If you care, Mr Pistorius, you would have dealt with it, Nel says to OP of Reeva's message. "It's aaaaall about Mr Pistorius," Nel says. That's not true, says OP.


10:09 - Nel goes back to Reeva's message. "I'm the girl who fell in love with you..." Reeva said. OP said he replied with a request to phone her. It wasn't met with an "I love you". OP says he never wants to tell anyone for the first time over a text message "I love you". 


10:08 - OP says he screamed at Taylor's friend who was drunk and disorderly at a party but never at her.


10:07 - Nel: Did you send a note about Samantha Taylor lying when she said you screamed at her? OP: "I don't know if I did write a note."


10:05 - OP says there were many lies in Sam Taylor's evidence. Things Mr Roux didn't pick up on, he claims. Why didn't he bring this up, why didn't you point it out to him, Nel asks.

On Wednesday, Taylor tweeted about OP's lies. This tweet was later deleted.


10:04 - OP says he never shouted or screamed at Reeva. But you screamed at Sam Taylor, Nel asks. OP says he never did. 


10:03 - Further into Reeva's message, Nel reads: "I've been upset with you for two days now..." OP says he thinks she was upset over how he brushed her off. "Just say that again," says Nel.


10:03 - Nel: You said 'I've never thrown a tantrum in front of people'...I could be ruthless and say you lied and now you're fixing up... 


10:01 - I've never said I never throw a tantrum, OP says. But that's what you said, Nel says. Then I correct myself, OP says.


9:59 - "I do everything to make YOU happy," Nel reads from message. It's all about you, Nel tells OP again. Now he wants to know about tantrum Reeva referred to in message. 


9:58 - Nel now goes onto part of message where Reeva says her and OP are living a "double-standard relationship". OP says they were very different people. He was sometimes sensitive. Maybe she didn't talk about everything, he says.


9:58 - OP: I did want to resolve this. I wanted to communicate with her.


9:56 - Nel reads more of the message: "I'm terribly disappointed with the way you left me…"OP says he wishes he choice to stay and sort things out.


9:55 - Further in message - Nel says "you brushed her off in public". OP confirms.


9:55 - It's about you, Nel says to OP. 


9:54 - OP says we can go through the whole message. Nel assures him "we're going to".


9:53 - Nel asks about "a public scene". "I didn't know Reeva wanted to stay later at Darren Fresco's engagement party," OP tells Nel.


9:52 - OP says he and Reeva had an argument at the event they were at. He felt she was flirting with another man. OP admits to being jealous.


9:51 - Nel now wants to know about the "drama around us" which Reeva mentioned in the same message. OP says he can't remember.


9:50 - I don't feel like I picked on her incessantly. Maybe we were having a rough time, says OP. Mr Nel's right, I didn't pick on her incessantly.


9:50 - In this message she was obviously upset that I hadn't contacted her first, claims OP.


9:49 - I never picked her, says OP. So she lied, Nel asks. She didn't lie, says OP. 


9:47 - Nel is referring to a message from Reeva to OP in which she says he "picked on me incessantly". Nel says it must mean you picked on her OVER DAYS (he stresses). OP says he doesn't think so. "I was good to Reeva," OP says tearfully.


9:47 - Nel has one more question about OP's apology. Now back to the messages...


9:46 - Nel refers to a Whatsapp message from 27 January.


9:45 - Nel now goes back to the Whatsapp messages. Exhibit ZZ.


9:44 - Nel now goes over OP's apology. His tone is sarcastic. As if he doesn't believe the words. "You're not sorry that you killed their daughter," Nel says to OP.


9:43 - Nel asks why he didn't apologise for "killing Reeva". OP responds with silence.


9:43 - OP says he thought it was best to do the apology then. OP says he never had the opportunityto apologise to Reeva's parents. OP says he apologised for taking their daughter's life, for their sorrow. 


9:42 - Nel asks why he wasn't humble enough to do it in private.


9:40 - OP says he hasn't had the opportunity to apologise, he couldn't find the words. Nel asks if he only thought about himself. OP says with a sad tone he did think of the Steenkamps.


9:39 - Nel asks what OP was apologising for when he started testifying. He says it was for causing the Steenkamps suffering. Says apologising was something he wanted to do for a while. NMel accuses him of making a spectacle with apology.


9:39 - Nel tells OP: Your life is just about you.

OP says he was very concerned about "both of us (myself and Reeva)"


9:37 - Nel says the only times Reeva said 'I love you' in messages was to her mother, never to OP. OP confirms. Says he never got the chance to tell her he loves her.


9:36 - Nel refers, in a rather mocking tone, to messages of "boo, baa..." OP says he phoned her more than she did him. 


9:36 - Nel asks OP to describe relation with Reeva in January, February. Nel says there were arguments. OP says the relationship "got stronger" but says there were arguments.


9:34 - Nel gets going... Starts with the scene of 13-14 February. OP confirms that it was only he and Reeva in the house. "You're the only witness… the other was killed by you…" Whoa. 


9:33 - Judge Masipa is in court. Court resumes. 


9:30 - eNCA's Karyn Maughan tweets: "State may apply to reopen case if defence calls psych expert - hence police psychologist in court to take notes on OP evidence."


9:27 - Watch prosecutor Gerrie Nel bring Oscar Pistorius to tears in the North Gauteng High Court when he forced Pisorius to look at a photograph of Reeva's bloodied head. Warning: Graphic content.


9:19 - Oscar Pistorius is in court. He's taken his seat in the witness stand.




9:14 - Reeva's dad, Barry Steenkamp, also told the UK's Daily Mirror that he's going to try to make his way to Pretoria from Port Elizabeth to be with his wife at the trial.

He has been advised not to travel following a stroke but says wants to be with June. Read more here.


9:07 - Reporters say June Steenkamp has arrived in court too.


9:05 - The Pistorius's have started arriving too:



9:04 - 


9:01 - Be sure to watch at 13:00 on Channel 199 as Devi Sankaree Govender gets analysts’ views on Week 5 of the Oscar Pistorius Trial on The Lunch Time Show.

And, if you’re a DStv Premium, Extra, Compact and Compact Plus subscriber, use a laptop or PC to stream The Oscar Pistorius Trial – A Carte Blanche Channel at oscartrialstream.dstv.com 


8:41 - In an exclusive interview with Britain’s Daily Mirror Reeva Steenkamp’s mom, June, calls Oscar Pistorius “the devil”.

In another interview, broadcast on the Investigation Discovery TV channel, she says her attitude has changed since seeing him in court. Read more here.



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