Oscar tells court how he came to pull trigger
ANGUISHED sobs and sounds of retching filled the Pretoria High Court yesterday as Oscar Pistorius broke down in tears, describing the moment he realised he had shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
“I sat over her and cried. She was not breathing. I have no idea how long I was there for. I just cried and cried and cried.”
For two hours yesterday, a weeping Pistorius, 27, questioned by his lawyer Barry Roux, gave chilling testimony of the moments leading to the point where he pulled the trigger, shooting Steenkamp, 29, through a locked toilet door.
Describing the moments leading him to open fire, Pistorius said: “I heard the bathroom window slide open. I was fearful. Frozen by fear. I wanted to protect Reeva and myself”.
He told Judge Thokozile Masipa how he had woken during the early hours of the morning from the heat.
“I was on the left side of the bed because of my sore shoulder. Reeva was awake … she said ‘Baba go back to sleep’.
“I got up – on my stumps – with my left hand on the bed [to balance]. I went to the balcony to bring in the fans. I closed the curtains. The only light was from an amplifier. Except for that, the room was completely dark.”
It was as he returned to bed that he heard the bathroom window slide open.
Responding to Roux, Pistorius, describing his fear, said he thought it was a burglar.
“I froze. There was nothing between the bedroom and the bathroom. No barrier except the toilet door. I thought there was someone coming.
“The first thing I thought was that I needed to arm myself, to get my gun to protect us.”
Pistorius, on his stumps and hands, went to his side of the bed, grabbing his holstered gun from underneath it].
Whispering to Steenkamp to get to the floor and phone the police, Pistorius edged towards the passage and the threat.
“I was so scared. I started screaming. I have never screamed like that in my life. I was screaming to Reeva to phone the police, to the intruders to get out of my house.”
Roux, who had Pistorius demonstrate how he walked on his stumps, led the Blade Runner as he testified about the moment he opened fire.
“As I entered the bathroom I thought the intruders were around the corner. I had my gun in my right hand, raised to eye level … my back against the bathroom entrance wall.
“There was no light on, but I could see the window was open. I wasn’t sure where the intruders were … in the toilet, around the corner or on a ladder outside the window.”
Unsure of where to point his gun, Pistorius kept on looking between the open window and toilet door, not knowing where the “attack” would come from.
“I was screaming … I heard a noise from the toilet and shot four times.
“I was screaming for Reeva … my ears ringing. I didn’t think she was in the toilet.” Proceedings continue today.
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