04-08-2014, 02:12 PM
OSCAR PISTORIUS - HIS VERSION OF EVENTS IN HIS OWN WORDS
Dinner and going to bed
He said Steenkamp had offered to cook for him, and later, when they went upstairs, Pistorius opened the sliding doors on to the balcony off his bedroom because it was a very humid evening and the air conditioning was not working.
He placed two fans in the doorway to the balcony, closed the doors as far as possible, and drew the blinds and heavy curtains to prevent insects from coming in.
He said he had locked the bedroom door and put a cricket bat there to block the way in case anyone tried to enter, as he did every night. Pistorius said he also switched on the alarm system in his house every night.
Earlier in the evening, he had placed his firearm under the bed next to a pedestal, he said. He was sleeping on a different side than usual because his shoulder was sore, he said.
Pistorius said that he had asked Steenkamp to bring in the fan and lock the doors when she fell asleep, and that she said she would.
Waking up and the steps leading to the shooting
He said he fell asleep between 9 and 10 p.m. and woke up later. Steenkamp then asked him if he couldn't sleep, he said -- and he got up to move the fans. He then heard the noise from the bathroom.
He described how he was on his stumps, he found his gun under the bed and made his way toward the passage from his bedroom to the bathroom.
The double-amputee braced himself against a bathroom wall as he noticed that a window was open, and became convinced that an intruder was inside his residence, he testified. The emotion was clear in his voice as he told how he was "overcome by fear."
"There's no barrier between me and the bathroom window. I immediately thought that they could be there at any moment. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to arm myself. I needed to protect Reeva and I and I needed to get my gun," he said.
He screamed for Steenkamp to call the police.
Shortly before he fired his gun, he heard a noise from behind the door where the toilet is, and thought somebody was coming out. "Before I knew it I fired four shots at the door," he said.
The realization that he'd shot Reeva
Once he returned to the bedroom and could not find his girlfriend, the thought crossed his mind for the first time that she might have been the one inside the bathroom, Pistorius testified.
"I was panicking at this point. I didn't know what to make or what to do," Pistorius recounted. "I don't think I've ever screamed like that. ... I was crying out to the Lord, I was crying out for Reeva."
"My lady, that's the moment that everything changed," he told Judge Thokozile Masipa.
NOTE: This was the first time he had indicated that Steenkamp was awake in the moments before the drama unfolded.
The full CNN story and snippet videos of key testimony from today (left of article): http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/world/...?hpt=hp_t2
Dinner and going to bed
He said Steenkamp had offered to cook for him, and later, when they went upstairs, Pistorius opened the sliding doors on to the balcony off his bedroom because it was a very humid evening and the air conditioning was not working.
He placed two fans in the doorway to the balcony, closed the doors as far as possible, and drew the blinds and heavy curtains to prevent insects from coming in.
He said he had locked the bedroom door and put a cricket bat there to block the way in case anyone tried to enter, as he did every night. Pistorius said he also switched on the alarm system in his house every night.
Earlier in the evening, he had placed his firearm under the bed next to a pedestal, he said. He was sleeping on a different side than usual because his shoulder was sore, he said.
Pistorius said that he had asked Steenkamp to bring in the fan and lock the doors when she fell asleep, and that she said she would.
Waking up and the steps leading to the shooting
He said he fell asleep between 9 and 10 p.m. and woke up later. Steenkamp then asked him if he couldn't sleep, he said -- and he got up to move the fans. He then heard the noise from the bathroom.
He described how he was on his stumps, he found his gun under the bed and made his way toward the passage from his bedroom to the bathroom.
The double-amputee braced himself against a bathroom wall as he noticed that a window was open, and became convinced that an intruder was inside his residence, he testified. The emotion was clear in his voice as he told how he was "overcome by fear."
"There's no barrier between me and the bathroom window. I immediately thought that they could be there at any moment. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to arm myself. I needed to protect Reeva and I and I needed to get my gun," he said.
He screamed for Steenkamp to call the police.
Shortly before he fired his gun, he heard a noise from behind the door where the toilet is, and thought somebody was coming out. "Before I knew it I fired four shots at the door," he said.
The realization that he'd shot Reeva
Once he returned to the bedroom and could not find his girlfriend, the thought crossed his mind for the first time that she might have been the one inside the bathroom, Pistorius testified.
"I was panicking at this point. I didn't know what to make or what to do," Pistorius recounted. "I don't think I've ever screamed like that. ... I was crying out to the Lord, I was crying out for Reeva."
"My lady, that's the moment that everything changed," he told Judge Thokozile Masipa.
NOTE: This was the first time he had indicated that Steenkamp was awake in the moments before the drama unfolded.
The full CNN story and snippet videos of key testimony from today (left of article): http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/world/...?hpt=hp_t2