Paralympian gold medalist Oscar Pistorius's lawyer accused witnesses of collaborating in their testimony about hearing a woman scream and cries for help on the third day of his trial for the premeditated murder of his girlfriend.
Double-amputee Pistorius, 27, pleaded not guilty on March 3 in the High Court in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, to planning to shoot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his home in the city on Valentine's Day last year. His lawyer Barry Roux argued that it was a case of accidental death.
Roux questioned the similarities between the testimony of Michelle Burger and her husband Charl Johnson, and how it differed from statements they gave to the police after the shooting. Burger and Johnson were the first and third witnesses for the prosecution and lived near Pistorius.
"You just as well have stood together in the witness box," Roux said, adding the witnesses may have discussed their testimony. "It's not about the time, it's about the exact same words."
Known as the Blade Runner because of his J-shaped prosthetic running blades, Pistorius has admitted to shooting Steenkamp three times while she was in his bathroom, believing she was an intruder. Presiding Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa will rule on the case because South Africa doesn't have a jury system.
Threatening Texts
More than 100 witnesses may be called by prosecutor Gerrie Nel in the trial. Apart from the murder charge, Pistorius faces two counts of illegally firing a gun in public and one of illegally possessing ammunition. About 20 people who live or work near Pistorius's home in the exclusive housing estate in the capital city are expected to give testimony, in a trial scheduled to run for three weeks.
Johnson told the court at the start of the session he had received threatening phone calls and text messages relating to the case.
"Stop lying in court," Johnson said, reciting a message. "We know Oscar is innocent. It's not cool man."
Estelle van der Merwe, another neighbor of Pistorius, told the court yesterday that she heard what sounded like an argument at a nearby home in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013. Johnson said he and Burger were awakened by a woman's screams.
"The intensity and fear in her voice escalated and it was clear that this person's life was in danger," Johnson said yesterday. "That's when the shots were fired. I heard the lady scream again and the last scream faded moments after the last gunshot was fired."
Gold Medals
Pistorius, who has been free on 1 million rand ($93,000) bail since February 2013, wore a dark suit and sat on the accused bench behind his legal team writing notes. Member of both families were in the wood-paneled court.
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.
Multichoice, a unit of Naspers Ltd., and Primedia Broadcasting Ltd. are permitted to broadcast the trial live on radio and partially live on television.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Burkhardt in Johannesburg at pburkhardt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Pistorius Lawyer Says That Witnesses Collaborated on Testimony - Bloomberg
Dengan url
https://goartikelasik.blogspot.com/2014/03/pistorius-lawyer-says-that-witnesses.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Pistorius Lawyer Says That Witnesses Collaborated on Testimony - Bloomberg
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Pistorius Lawyer Says That Witnesses Collaborated on Testimony - Bloomberg
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar