Pistorius Trial Resumes

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius "was broken" after shooting his girlfriend, his neighbour has said, as the murder trial resumed after a two-week break.  Johan Stander was the first person the athlete called after shooting Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. The South African Olympic sprinter denies intentionally killing her. He says he shot through a toilet door while in a state of panic, fearing there was an intruder in his house.

Today we heard from the first people Oscar Pistorius entrusted with the chilling confession that he had just shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Johan Stander and his daughter Carice arrived at he Pistorius house, minutes after the shooting. Both seemed distraught on the stand as they testified about Ms Steekamp's last moments.

Mr Stander told the court of the athlete's desperate attempts to save her. "How he begged God to keep her alive. I saw that truth that morning. I saw it and I feel it," he testified. His daughter told the court how Mr Pistorius pleaded with Ms Steenkamp not to leave him. "Stay with me, my love, stay with me," she said through tears.

Both painted a desperate and sad picture of the frantic battle to save a dying Steenkamp. It is important to add though that both sides agree that after shooting the model Mr Pistorius was overcome with immense grief. What they don't agree on though are the events prior to the firing of those fateful shots - the difference between murder and a tragic accident. That is what this case will come down to when the court reaches its verdict.

Mr Stander implied that he thought Mr Pistorius' reactions showed that the shooting had been a mistake.

"I saw the truth that morning and I feel it," he told the court.

"He was desperate to save her [and] prayed to God."

Journalist, Pumza Fihlani who was at court in the capital, Pretoria, says the athlete wore a black suit, black tie and black glasses and his hair had been cut. The Paralympic athlete, 27, had a pen in his hand and listened intently to his neighbour.

Mr Stander, who lives about  380 yards from Mr Pistorius said he received a call at 03.18 on 14 February 2013. He said the athlete told him: "I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder, please come quick."

Mr Stander said that when he and his family arrived at the house, they saw Mr Pistorius coming downstairs with Ms Steenkamp in his arms.

"I could see she had a head-wound," Mr Stander said.

"He was broken. He was screaming, he was crying, he was praying," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"It's not something I would like to experience again," he said.

"He asked us to assist him to take her to hospital."
Mr Stander also said there had been several recent break-ins in the private estate where he and Mr Pistorius live. However, under cross-examination, he accepted that it was a safe place to live.

Carice Viljoen, Mr Stander's daughter who arrived with him at Mr Pistorius' home, broke down in court as she described seeing the accused carry Ms Steenkamp down the staircase.

The athlete was begging Ms Steenkamp to stay alive, she told the court. "Stay with me, my love," she quoted him as saying. Ms Viljoen followed the athlete inside his home when he went to get identification documents because she thought he was going to shoot himself, she added.

The couple had been dating for just a few months when the incident happened in 2013

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel accused Mr Pistorius of "tailoring his evidence" during his cross-examination

 

Before the Easter break, the athlete faced several days of cross-examination from the state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who accused him of using emotional outbursts "as an escape".

As well as neighbours, the athlete's defence team is expected to call on a ballistics expert. A psychologist is also set to be called to speak about Mr Pistorius' disability and his acute sense of vulnerability. The prosecution has sought to show a pattern of reckless behaviour by the athlete and has argued that a reasonable man would have checked before firing four bullets through a locked door.

If found guilty, the 27-year-old - a national sports hero and double amputee dubbed the "blade runner" because of the prosthetic limbs he wears to race - could face life imprisonment.

Ms Steenkamp, 29, was a model, celebrity TV star and law graduate.

If Mr Pistorius is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison. He also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, both of which he denies.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.