Final arguments due in Oscar trial

Oscar Pistorius is seen inside the High Court in Pretoria. File picture: Siphiwe Sibeko

Oscar Pistorius is seen inside the High Court in Pretoria. File picture: Siphiwe Sibeko

Published Aug 7, 2014

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Johannesburg -

Final arguments in Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial will be heard in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel accused Pistorius of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in “cold blood” on February 14 last year at his Pretoria home.

Nel said the court should find that Pistorius's account of the shooting on Valentine's Day last year was “so improbable that it could not reasonably, possibly be true”.

During the trial, Nel accused Pistorius of faking emotional distress on the witness stand because he knew his version of why he shot and killed Steenkamp did not hold water.

Pistorius protested that he had become emotional because he was recalling a traumatic event.

The State filed its final arguments on July 30, and the defence on Monday.

On July 8, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that no heads of argument could be published in print or electronic media until the commencement of the arguments in court.

Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State contends he killed her during an argument.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act - one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well. - Sapa

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