Oscar Pistorius pleads not guilty upon all accusations
PRETORIA, March 3. /ITAR-TASS/. South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius has plead not guilty upon all accusations brought against him. These were intentional homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp that occurred on St. Valentine’s Day in 2013, and three cases of gun-control legislature breach.
He made this statement as the trial against him started in the High Court of Pretoria.
Prosecutor Gerry Nel said that aside from intentional homicide of Steenkamp, Pistorius is also accused of shooting a gun for no good reason under a table at one of the restaurants in Johannesburg, and let off a pistol through the sun roof of his friend’s car. In addition, bullets without license have been found in his house.
On all accusations, Pistorius answered: “Not guilty”. He also dismissed the prosecution’s version that says he allegedly had a quarrel with Steenkamp, after which the girl hid in the bathroom before the murder.
“I deny this,” the attorney of Pistorius said. According to his version, the athlete woke up at night as he heard a noise in the bathroom and thought that a robber had broke in his house. He made four shots through the bathroom’s closed door.
The first witness and neighbor of Pistorius Michelle Berger revealed that she heard a woman scream before the shots. “She was screaming terribly and called out for help. Then, I heard a man calling out for help three times. After that, the woman began to scream more loudly. The fear in her voice was terrible,” the witness said. Then, Berger heard the shots.
In case the intentional homicide is proven, 27-year-old Pistorius may face a penalty of 25 years of prison up to life imprisonment.
In the court, 107 witnesses should speak before the court, including relatives of Pistorius, different experts and residents of the Silver Woods restricted neighborhood, where the murder took place.