#OscarPistorius Has Formally Pleaded Not Guilty To Murdering Reeva Steenkamp + Photos
Oscar Pistorius has formally pleaded not guilty to murdering Reeva Steenkamp after walking past the victim's mother who says she wanted to 'really look him in the eyes' for the very first time.
The double amputee responded 'not guilty, my lady' after a state prosecutor read out a charge that he 'unlawfully and intentionally did kill' his girlfriend on Valentine's Day last year.
The court was read a statement from the Paralympian in which he claimed he had mistakenly thought there was an intruder in his home, leading him to open fire in an attempt to protect himself.
The statement, read by his defence lawyer while the athlete remained standing, said the scene had been contaminated and disturbed.
See more photos after the cut
Tense: Pistorius took his seat, wearing a dark suit and black tie, without looking in June Steenkamp's direction
The amputee takes a drink of water as he waits for the start of the trial which was delayed by nearly two hours
In it, the Paralympian said he did not intend to kill his then girlfriend that night and they had not argued that night.
He said: 'I deny this allegation in the strongest terms because there was no argument. The allegation that I wanted to shoot (or kill) Reeva cannot be further from the truth.'
Pistorius also denied two charges relating to the discharge of firearms in a public place and one charge of the illegal possession of ammunition in the packed courtroom in Pretoria.
Before the trial started, he walked past Miss Steenkamp's mother, June, who says wanted 'to see for myself the truth about what he did to Reeva'. He did not look in her direction as he took his seat.
She was seated on the bench directly behind the Paralympian so there is a possibility that their eyes will lock during the trial.
Emotional: June Steenkamp (left) shows the strain of her very first encounter with Pistorius as she waits for the start of his trial. She says she will be ready to forgive him whatever verdict is handed down
Looking for closure: June Steenkamp (left) says she wants to 'see for myself the truth about what he did'
Loyal support: Relatives of Oscar Pistorius wait inside the high court prior to the start of his trial
His family, including his brother Carl and sister Aimee are also seated nearby.
The highly-anticipated trial of the six-times sprint champion finally got under way an hour and a half late at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
Pistorius was asked by judge Thokozile Masipa if he understood the charge of murdering Ms Steenkamp, to which he replied: 'I do, I do, my lady.'
Asked how he pleaded, he said: 'Not guilty, my lady.'
June Steenkamp, the mother of model Reeva Steenkamp who Pistorius is accused of murdering, had arrived at court ahead of the double amputee, dressed in black and looking sombre.
She was quoted by the Mail on Sunday over the weekend saying that she wanted to see Pistorius as he walked into the courtroom.
'I want to look at Oscar, really look him in the eyes and see for myself the truth about what he did to Reeva,' said June Steenkamp, 67.
'Whatever the court decides at the end of his trial, I will be ready to forgive him ... But first I want to force him to look at me, Reeva's mother, and see the pain and anguish he has inflicted on me. I feel I need that.'
Accused: Oscar Pistorius arrives for the start of his murder trial in Pretoria over the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp who he shot at his home on Valentine's Day last year
'I want to look him in the eyes': Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June, arrives at the court to face Oscar Pistorius for the first time since he shot her daughter at his home on Valentine's Day last year
Under grey, drizzly skies, journalists, lawyers and security officials arrived at the Pretoria courthouse in preparation for the trial.
Several broadcasters massed live broadcast satellite trucks around the courthouse.
The intense public interest in the Pistorius trial is shown by the launching Sunday night of a 24-hour cable channel devoted to covering the court case.
The start of the trial marks the start of a dramatic new chapter in the life of the double-amputee athlete who ran at the Olympics and became a global star before he shot his girlfriend to death.
Prosecutors charged the 27-year-old Pistorius with the premeditated murder of Miss Steenkamp.
Anxious: Oscar Pistorius's brother Carl arrives at the Pretoria court ahead of the murder trial
The Paralympian's sister Aimee Pistorius (left) talks outside the courtroom before the hearing
They say they will seek a life sentence if Pistorius is convicted, the sternest punishment available in South Africa. South Africa no longer has the death penalty.
If convicted on the murder charge, Pistorius could be sent to prison for at least 25 years before the chance of parole, the minimum time someone must serve if given a life sentence in South Africa.
He would be older than 50 before he could be released.
The state says Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp at his home in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine's Day last year by shooting her through a toilet door after an argument.
Pistorius denies murder and says he killed his girlfriend by mistake when he fired four times through the door thinking there was a dangerous nighttime intruder on the other side.
Emotional: People stand around a newspaper poster quoting Miss Steenkamp's mother June who said: 'I want to look into Oscar's eyes' when she attends the trial
High stakes: If convicted of murder, Pistorius could be jailed for at least 25 years before the chance of parole
A lesser sentence is possible if Pistorius is found guilty of murder but without premeditation. He also could be convicted of culpable homicide, South Africa's version of manslaughter in which someone is killed through negligence.
Pistorius claims he was acting in self-defense against what he believed at the time was a threat to his life.
As well as murder, Pistorius faces a second charge of illegal possession of ammunition for bullets found at his Pretoria house that he allegedly didn't have proper licensing for.
Prosecutors say he also will be indicted Monday with two more gun charges relating to him allegedly shooting in public on two separate occasions before Steenkamp's killing.
The serving of an updated indictment to Pistorius in court is expected to be the first move at the trial at Pretoria's high court.
He has not yet been formally served with the papers that include all four charges against him, although his lawyers have had the papers and details of the additional gun charges since last year, prosecutors say.
The gun charges reportedly relate to him allegedly shooting out the sunroof of a car in one incident and another when he allegedly fired a gun inside a restaurant, apparently by mistake.
Accused: Pistorius claims he accidentally shot Miss Steenkamp (pictured) after mistaking her for a burglar
Those incidents happened in the court jurisdiction of the city of Johannesburg, not where Steenkamp was killed in Pretoria, and prosecutors applied to have the two charges included and heard at his murder trial.
Female judge Thokozile Masipa will ultimately pronounce the champion runner innocent or guilty and will decide on any sentence. South Africa has no trial by jury.
Parts of the trial will be broadcast on live television, both in South Africa and across the world, and hundreds of reporters are expected to descend on North Gauteng High Court in the South African capital for the start of the trial.
The 24-hour cable channel devoted solely to the trial will continue until the case is finished.
The trial will deal with the bloody killing of a 29-year-old model and law graduate, but also the issue of gun ownership and South Africa's problem of violent crime, which Pistorius says was the reason why he kept his licensed 9 mm handgun under his bed.
Pistorius says his fear of crime was why he fired four shots through the door, hitting Steenkamp three times - in the head, elbow and hip.
Prosecutors maintain he was simply angry with her after an argument.
Members of Pistorius' family will likely attend the trial, as they did on his previous court hearings. His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, sister Aimee and brother Carl are all also listed as state witnesses.
'We love Oscar, and believe in him, and will be standing by him throughout the coming trial,' Arnold Pistorius said in a statement over the weekend.
Steenkamp's mother confirmed that she and other family members said will also be in the courtroom. The Steenkamps did not attend any of Pistorius' previous court appearances.
'All we are looking for is closure and to know that our daughter did not suffer on that tragic Valentine's Day,' said Steenkamp's parents said in a statement last month, days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting that stunned South Africa.
Source: Daily Mail
Comments
Post a Comment