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Prosecutor Yells At Pistorius: You're A Liar

by L. Turner

The 'pit bull' prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius' trial got right to the point during Friday's proceedings, when he called Pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend, a liar. The prosecution has been attempting to cast doubt on Pistorius' version of the night he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by firing shots through a bathroom door. Pistorius says it was an accident and he was convinced Steenkamp was an intruder.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who's known in South Africa for his aggressive courtroom tactics, accused the double-amputee of inventing a story that casts him as a scared, confused and jumpy man, rather than a murderer.

You are tailoring your evidence. You are in trouble, and you just give an explanation that’s nonsense. I think you are trying to cover up for lies. ... You had to come up with a version to explain why you got to the bathroom innocently.

The strongly-worded interrogation earned Nel a reprimand from the trial's judge, who asked him to "mind your language." On Thursday, Nel told Pistorius his version of events is 'so improbable that nobody would think it is reasonably or possibly true.'

"Is it reasonable for an intruder to run into a toilet and close the door?" asked Nel. When Pistorius replied it was 'a possibility,' Nel called that a lie.

It's so far-fetched. You knew that Reeva was behind the door, and you shot at her. That is the only thing that makes sense.
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A sticking point in the trial is when high-pitched screaming heard from Pistorius' apartment occurred. Witnesses have testified that they heard screaming and yelling coming from the apartment, which prosecutors claim occurred during an argument that preceded the shooting. If the two were awake and having an argument, prosecutors are trying to argue, it's hard to believe that Pistorius had no idea who was in the bathroom when he shot through the door.

In Pistorius' version of events, however, he ran out onto his balcony after the shooting and started screaming for help. But photos of the scene show a fan, the bed's duvet, and mostly-drawn curtains seemingly blocking his path to the balcony. Pistorius says clumsy investigators moved the items.