– ‘Mother had a pistol’ –
Pistorius’s legal team used his testimony to put his actions on February 14, 2013, into context, sketching out what it was like for him growing up disabled in a crime-ridden country without his father.
“When I grew up we were exposed to crime. Housebreakings, family members being assaulted and hijacked,” said the athlete, recounting burglaries at his own home and his father’s.
“My mother had a lot of security concerns. We grew up in a family where my father wasn’t around much. She would often get scared at night, she would phone the police,” he said.
“My mother had a pistol,” he added. “She kept her firearm in a padded bag under her pillow.”
Sheila Pistorius died when her amputee son was aged 15.
“My mother had a lot of security concerns. We grew up in a family where my father wasn’t around much. She would often get scared at night, she would phone the police,” he said.
He also testified about his vulnerability when he is not wearing his prosthetic legs.
“I don’t have balance on my stumps,” he said.
The defence also spent time on a character sketch of a deeply religious man who loves animals.
“I put a lot of faith in the Lord to be where I wanted to be,” he said about a revival of his faith in 2012, describing meeting the equally religious Steenkamp as a “blessing”.
“We would pray at night,” he said.
Cape Town-based criminal advocate William Booth said much will depend on how Pistorius stands up to cross-examination — which could come as soon as Tuesday.
“Oscar’s evidence can only be properly assessed once he’s been cross-examined,” Booth said.
In the five weeks since the trial began, Pistorius has appeared fragile and sometimes annoyed, frequently crying in court.
He was physically sick when the gruesome details of Steenkamp’s death were discussed.
A key question will be, “Is he emotionally stable to testify if he’s breaking down all the time?” Booth said.
“One would rather have him in a better state of mind when he testifies.”
Pistorius has hired an extensive team of forensic experts, including an American animation firm that will visually depict the crime scene using three-dimensional computer-generated images.
The experts will have to cast doubt on the state’s version of events, including testimony from witnesses who said they heard a woman screaming on the night of the killing, which would show Pistorius knew his target was Steenkamp.
His lawyer Barry Roux said he will call 14 to 17 witnesses in his case to testify on ballistics, urine emptying, damage to the toilet door, sound, and “disability and vulnerability.”
The trial is slated to run to at least mid-May.
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