(ATR) The defense team for Olympian Oscar Pistorius resumed its case Monday and plans to take two more weeks before closing arguments are made.
Johan Stander, a friend and neighbor of Pistorius, took the stand on Monday and described being the first to arrive at the scene where the Paralympian shot his girlfriend on Valentine's Day of 2013.
Stander testified that Pistorius called him that night and begged him to come over:"Please, please, please come to my house. I've shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder. Please, please, please come quick."
Upon arriving at the scene, Stander told the court the double-amputee was "praying, crying, torn apart."
He added, "And his commitment to save the young lady's life ... when he put his finger in the young lady's mouth ... how he begged her to stay alive ... I saw the truth that morning.I saw it. And I feel it."
During his cross-examination, chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel challenged Stander's description of the shooting as a "mistake."
The prosecution has aimed to undermine the Paralympian's credibility and disrupt hisversion of events that took place the night of Steenkamp's killing. Nel claims Pistorius intentionally shot his girlfriend after a heated argument.
Following Stander's testimony, the defense called his daughter Carice Viljoen as a witness whotestified to hearing a man shouting, "help, help, help," the night of the shooting.
"My heart was pounding so fast. I was very afraid," Viljoen added.
The defense is expected to call 14 to 17 witnesses throughout the duration of the trial, which isexpected to last into mid-May before Judge Thokozile Masipa makes a decision.If convicted, Pistorius faces 25 years in jail.
Written byNicole Bennett
For general comments or questions,click here.
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
