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 Double amputee Pistorius, 27, once a national icon for reaching
the pinnacle of sport, is accused of murdering Steenkamp, a law
graduate and model, at his home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day last
year.
The defense says Pistorius, nicknamed the 'Blade Runner' after his
carbon-fiber prosthetic running legs, shot Steenkamp through a
locked toilet door in self-defense, believing she was an intruder,
and that therefore he should be acquitted.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has spent the trial, which began in
March, portraying Pistorius as a gun-obsessed hothead who
deliberately shot Steenkamp, 29, four times through the door of the
toilet, where she was taking refuge after an argument.
Defense lawyer Barry Roux said during his closing arguments that
psychological evidence had proven the track star had a heightened
fight response because of his disability.
"You're standing at that door. You're vulnerable. You're anxious.
You're trained as an athlete to react. Take all those factors into
account," Roux said, adding that Pistorius had felt exposed because
he was standing on the stumps of his legs.
"He stands with his finger on the trigger, ready to fire when ready.
In some instances a person will fire reflexively," he added. "That
is your primal instinct."
Roux also argued that prosecutors had only called witnesses who
supported their argument and not other key people, including police
officers, who he said would have undermined their case.
On Thursday Nel said Pistorius had told "a snowball of lies" and had
called on Judge Thokozile Masipa to convict the track star of
intentional murder, a crime which could land him with a life
sentence.
A potential lesser charge of culpable homicide - comparable to
manslaughter - could carry a sentence of about 15 years.
Pistorius also faces three separate charges, including two counts of
discharging firearms in public and possession of illegal ammunition,
all of which he denies.
THE VERDICT
To arrive at a verdict, Masipa and her two assistants will have to
weigh up the credibility of testimony on both sides, including that
of Pistorius, who endured more than a week of torrid
cross-examination during which he broke down repeatedly.
In the absence of a jury, experts say the crux of the case is
whether Masipa accepts or rejects his version of events.
Nel has called for Pistorius' evidence to be rejected from the
judge's consideration because it was "devoid of any truth" and the
athlete contradicted himself when he said during cross-examination
that he fired both accidentally and deliberately.
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Masipa, only the second black woman to be appointed a high court judge in
post-apartheid South Africa, has to analyze more than 4,000 pages of
evidence and it could take several weeks for her to come to a final
verdict.
Roux said the trial should only ever have been on the charge of culpable
homicide, rather than murder, because he said Pistorius had clearly shot
Steenkamp by mistake.
Nel and Roux have focused much of their closing arguments on evidence
from witnesses who say they heard a woman scream before a volley of
shots, supporting the prosecution's position that the couple had an
argument before Steenkamp was killed.
Roux went through the early morning of the shooting minute-by-minute
during his wrapping-up, arguing that the witnesses were confused and
contradictory about the sounds they heard.
He also spent time analyzing photos he said proved the police had moved
items in the couple's bedroom, countering a key claim by Nel that images
of the room proved Pistorius' version of the events were impossible.
The courtroom dueling between Nel and Roux, both dynamic advocates with
contrasting styles, has added to the drama in a trial that has
captivated audiences around the world.
Nel, known as 'The Pitbull' because of his fierce cross-examination
style and penchant for the dramatic, has been the perfect foil to Roux,
an experienced criminal defense advocate whose meticulous eye for detail
has put the squeeze on even the most composed prosecution witnesses.
The fathers of both Pistorius and Steenkamp were in court for the first
time this week. The track star's aunt embraced Steenkamp's father before
the trial resumed on Friday.
Steenkamp's dramatic death has shattered the image of Pistorius as an
embodiment of triumph over adversity for both his Paralympic victories
and his success against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London
Olympics.
(Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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