Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Oscar Pistorius reads Valentine's Day card from the stand
South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius spent only 9 minutes in the stand today before his lawyer released him from 5 days of agonizing days of cross examination. The 27-year-old athlete left the stand today with a heartbreaking Valentine's day card that his murdered girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp left behind on the day she was shot to death by Pistorius. Invited by his defense lawyer Barry Roux in hopes that the card mend will some of the effects the cross examination has left on him, Pistorius read out the card which was addressed to him by a nickname “Ossie” in a halting voice. The message reads “Roses are red, violets are blue, I think today is a good day to tell you that I love you” the 29-year-old model signed the card with her name and a smiley face.
The
Valentines Day card was a means of rebuilding the case for the
defense after a nerve-racking cross-examination, Roux set out to
create an image of a couple very much in love to counter the viscous
image presented by the prosecution who claims Mr. Pistorius stomped
around his darkened upscale home, banishing a cocked and loaded
handgun while his girlfriend was in the bathroom in fear.
Prosecutor
Gerrie Nel told the court previously that none of the text messages
Steenkamp sent Pistorius ever included the phrase “I love you”
The
Olympic medalist killed his girlfriend before dawn on Valentines Day
2013 when he fired through a locked bathroom door. He is charged with
murder in Steenkamp's death. And if convicted, he could face up to 25
years to life in prison. Pistorius however maintains he mistook
Steenkamp for an intruder.
Mr Nel's cross examination over the
past few days often reduced Pistorius to tears as the prosecutor
aimed at deflecting Pistorius claims. In his final summary of the
prosecution's case, Nel told the court that Pistorius intentionally
killed Steenkamp, he said “She was locked into the bathroom and you
armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her...
and that what you did” Continuing he said, “Afterward, indeed,
you were overcome by what you'd done, that is true. Only because you
intentioned to kill her. You realized that”
Pistorius
went ahead to deny the accusations, but Neil shot back- “you fired
at Reeva”
In
tears, Pistorius answered: “ I did not fire at Reeva”
The
Olympian insists that there was an intruder in his home that night
even as Nel pressed further with his accusations, Pistorius said: “I
believed that there was someone coming out to attack me”
Mr.
Nel asked judge Masipa to postpone the hearing until May 5 at the
start of Tuesday's session, starting with an unspecified later date
for this week following how many South Africans are gearing up for a
four-day Easter weekend break. The judge said she will rule on the
request one Wednesday.
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