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Nancy Grace
The Blade Runner Murder Trial
Aired April 11, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: In the middle of the night, Olympic superstar Oscar Pistorius hears a noise coming from the bathroom. He fires multiple shots through the door. But in a shocking discovery, this was no intruder, his gorgeous model girlfriend dying on the other side. Was it cold-blooded murder, or, as Pistorius claims, just a deadly mistake? Now more secrets uncovered as Oscar Pistorius breaks down on the stand, fighting to walk free again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius as you`ve never seen him before. And in these pictures uncovered by Sky News, the athlete shows his prowess at handling a gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ready?
OSCAR PISTORIUS, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER: Ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screams of delight, but this is the voice of a man who sounds very much like Oscar Pistorius.
PISTORIUS: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Superstar Olympian Oscar Pistorius now faced with murder charges. If convicted, he could face anywhere from 15 years behind bars on a lower charge up to 25 years to life if convicted of murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the video shown by the prosecution in its first day of cross-examining Oscar Pistorius, the Olympian shooting watermelons at a gun range, yelling, then saying, It`s a lot softer than brains! The defense called the court presentation an ambush, evidence, they say, they weren`t privy to. The judge allowed it, and then prosecutor Gerrie Nel took everyone by surprise, ordering a graphic photo of a dead Reeva Steenkamp on every courtroom screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRIE NEL, PROSECUTOR: I`m going to show you, Mr. Pistorius. Is that the exact same effect (ph) the bullet that went into her head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pushing Pistorius to look, to compare the watermelon to Steenkamp.
PISTORIUS: My lady, I was there that night. I...
NEL: That`s it. Have a look, then. I know you don`t want to because you don`t want to take responsibility, but it`s time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you`ve done, Mr. Pistorius.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And in doing so, may have overstepped.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a valid strategy to try and unsettle the defendant so they essentially get tripped up on the stand. But there are reasonable limits within which that can be done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Earlier, Pistorius was on the stand for the defense.
PISTORIUS: (INAUDIBLE) her head on my -- on my left shoulder, and I could -- I could feel the blood was running down on me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius finally detailing the moments after he shot and killed his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
PISTORIUS: I was shouting, screaming for him to help me get her to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says he desperately tried to save her life.
PISTORIUS: I had my fingers in her mouth to help her try and breathe. I had my hand on her hip. I was trying to stop the bleeding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The defense making Oscar Pistorius meticulously recap minute by minute.
PISTORIUS: Reeva had already died whilst I was holding her, before the ambulance arrived, so I knew that there was nothing that I could do for her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The amputee discrediting expert testimony, who said he did not have his prosthetics on when he broke the bathroom door down with a cricket bat.
PISTORIUS: I can barely stand on my stumps, let alone yield a bat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The defense trying to disprove witness testimony, discussing statements from the neighbors on either side of Pistorius`s home, neighbors the prosecution never called to the stand, who say they never heard a woman`s voice that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She heard loud crying and not a woman screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius continuing to proclaim his innocence.
PISTORIUS: I did not intend to kill Reeva, my lady, or anybody else, for that matter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a tragic mistake, says Pistorius, who under cross-examination battled a prosecutor determined to prove it was nothing less than premeditated murder.
NEL: You made a mistake?
PISTORIUS: That`s correct.
NEL: You killed a person, that`s what you did, isn`t it.
PISTORIUS: I made a mistake.
NEL: You killed Reeva Steenkamp. That`s what you did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius has said that he didn`t think before he shot. However, the state prosecutor has said, We will show you you are lying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Oscar Pistorius across the world has been hailed as a hero, competing in the Olympics on blades or prosthetic legs, being extremely handsome to many people, and photogenic, became a worldwide phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius was never like everybody else.
PISTORIUS: I was missing -- missing fibula, which is the back bone in your leg. This is the tibula.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was born that way, and had both legs amputated at the knee before his 1st birthday.
PISTORIUS: You know, I grew up in a family where disability was never an issue. We didn`t really speak about my disability, not because it was a topic that was taboo or that we thought there as a stereotype in our family. And that`s the mentality that I`ve had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mentality that drove him to succeed, to walk by 17 months, to overcome the pain of his parent`s divorce, and later the grief of losing his mother, to race and compete.
PISTORIUS: You know, sports have always been a big part of my life. We grew up in South Africa, where most kids really enjoy the outdoors. I was never much of an academic at school, so I kind of had to (INAUDIBLE) and find something where -- which I enjoyed. And I started sports. And from a very young age, my mother said to us, you know, sports aren`t about being the best, but it`s about giving your best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he smashed his knee playing rugby at 16, Oscar Pistorius took up track to help him heal, a decision that would change his life. Within the year, he won his first gold at the Paralympic games in Athens, using flexible prosthetics called Cheetah Blades, earning him the nickname the "Blade Runner."
PISTORIUS: (INAUDIBLE) see the sense of gravity. It doesn`t have a heel, so it`s pretty difficult to balance on. And when you`re wearing them, you know, if you`re standing still, you kind of have to put your foot around the whole time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius was becoming a living legend, a hero in a battered nation, a media darling. His story captured worldwide attention. His prosthetics were inspiring to many but controversial to others.
PISTORIUS: I`ve always been a very big advocate for fair play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius`s fame and success made him a role model for all people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s done magnificently well, and I think everybody`s proud of him.
PISTORIUS: Being an international sportsman, there`s a lot of responsibility that comes with that. So having to toggle (ph) that and remembering, you know, that there are kids out there especially that look up to you is definitely something that you need to keep at the back of your mind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius had his fans, but also had his critics. He was known for having a quick temper, but friends and family say that didn`t mean he would ever hurt anyone, especially not his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw them together in Capetown, they really were in love. Oscar was a very loving person, as well as Reeva. So by no means did I think their relationship was in jeopardy. They were very loving. And you know, like I said, it`s very sad, because it was a big shock to us to hear what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius used to say his life was a blessing. He was able to overcome his disability and prove himself on the field over and over again until there was no doubt about his abilities. Whether he can prove himself again is the question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screams of delight, but listen to the voice of a man who sounds very much like Oscar Pistorius.
PISTORIUS: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruder (INAUDIBLE) came out of the toilet, he (sic) would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps. I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police." Didn`t hear any response, so now he backs himself out of the bathroom, and he`s heading back towards the bedroom, but he says he`s keeping his eyes on the bathroom because he doesn`t know if there`s intruders there or not. It`s still pitch dark here. But then at some point, Mike (ph), he realizes that Reeva`s actually not in the bed!
Reeva`s not there! So he said, When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Pistorius is also very volatile, hotheaded. He is quite the ladies` man, and at the time of the alleged murder was in a relationship with a gorgeous young model, Reeva Steenkamp. The two were living together. There were many reports of alleged jealousy on his part, a short fuse.
But the night if question, apparently, the two had argued. Neighbors report, earwitnesses, that they heard an argument, a loud argument, shouting between a man and a woman just before the shooting. They then heard screaming, shots fired, more screaming, and more shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At times stoic, at times physically ill, Oscar Pistorius in court for more than three weeks as the state made its case for premeditated murder, the prosecutor waiting until this week to reveal what legal analysts say is his strongest evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I`m scared of you sometimes, and how you snap at me."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A police expert reading texts between the Olympian and his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, including this one sent just days before he shot and killed her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I can`t be attacked by outsiders for dating you, and be attacked by you, the one person I deserve protection from."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius claims the shooting was a tragic mistake, that he thought Steenkamp was a burglar. In cross-examination, his defense tried to put those messages from Steenkamp into context, the expert admitting that 90 percent were loving. But was it enough?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state`s case has been heavily circumstantial so far. Those texts are the first piece of compelling evidence we have to establish some kind of motive from which his intention can be inferred.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most damning for him, the ballistics expert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) seated on the toilet seat, but the wound on her (ph), it`s too low for that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Placing Reeva Steenkamp in a defensive position when the Olympian shot and killed her. Some of the most chilling testimony, neighbors who say they heard Reeva Steenkamp`s screams.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The intensity and the fear in her voice escalated, and it was clear that this person`s life was in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Between the various witnesses, the order and the punctuation of these staccato shots varied. But there has been more than one witness that states there was an argument, then the gunshots. Now, Pistorius has a very different story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never wanted to shoot the intruders coming out of the door.
PISTORIUS: That`s correct, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we know they (INAUDIBLE)
PISTORIUS: That`s correct, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that (INAUDIBLE)
PISTORIUS: That`s correct, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So there was no reason for you to shoot. Objectively (ph), after the fact, as we stand here today, you had no reason to shoot.
PISTORIUS: That`s correct, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you fire?
PISTORIUS: Because I heard a noise coming from inside the toilet that I interpreted at that split moment as somebody coming out to attack me, my lady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: He says the night that Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in his home, he woke up. He went out on the balcony to adjust a fan at the window. He heard a noise. He says he believed an intruder was in the home, that he went to the bed -- under the bed, he keeps a gun, one of many guns he owns, in a holster -- that he grabbed the gun.
Interestingly, the holster was found on the side of the bed where Reeva slept. So in order to get the gun, he would be on the level of the mattress. He was on his stumps, he did not have his blades on, when he got the gun. But he says he did not realize Steenkamp was missing from the bed, goes into the bathroom, where he hears the noise, and starts firing into the commode closet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PISTORIUS: I didn`t intend to shoot. I was pointing -- my firearm was pointed at the door because that`s where I believed that somebody was. When I heard a noise, I didn`t have time to think, and I fired my weapon. It was an accident!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And he fired the gun multiple times through the door.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oscar Pistorius admits that he killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The question is why. Ballistics and forensic experts testified that he fired four bullets through a closed bathroom door in his house in the middle of the night on Valentine`s Day last year. Three hit Steenkamp, one in the head, probably killing her almost instantly, testimony said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The neighbors claim they heard a woman screaming after the first gunshot, and then more screams, which would contradict Pistorius`s story that he thought an intruder was in the closet, the water closet, the commode closet, not Reeva Steenkamp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Valentine`s Day, 2013, marked not by romance but by gunfire inside the home of Oscar Pistorius. Neighbors say they heard arguing. Pistorius says he heard an intruder. Whatever it was, it left Pistorius`s girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, dead, shot in the head, arm and hip.
So was it murder or a terrible mistake? Oscar Pistorius detailed his side of the story in a rare affidavit given to the court. Hours before the fatal shooting, Pistorius wrote, it had been a normal evening at home, a quiet dinner, TV in bed for him, yoga for her. He told the court hours after they went to bed, he was jolted awake, filled with fear after hearing a noise in the bathroom.
Pistorius wrote in the affidavit, "I grabbed my 9-millimeter pistol from underneath my bed and screamed at the intruder to get out." Then, he explained, he fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me the instinctive thing, you hear sounds in the bathroom, if only to say, Hey, honey, did you hear that? You do that first before you move to the bathroom to fire shots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: According to experts brought on by the state, Reeva Steenkamp was first shot in the hip, hence the screaming. She held up her arms protectively. She was shot in the hand and then ultimately in the head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the affidavit, Pistorius, who said he did not have his prosthetic legs on at the time of the shooting, found Steenkamp slumped over, adding, "She died in my arms." Pistorius`s agent got a frantic call at 4:00 AM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just had voice (ph) (INAUDIBLE) frantically (INAUDIBLE) shouting, Please, you have (INAUDIBLE) you have to come to Oscar`s house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say this was no tragic mistake, that Pistorius calculated the perfect angle, aiming downward at the toilet. And there`s this, a floor plan of the apartment, which the state says proves Pistorius could not have crossed the bedroom without realizing Steenkamp wasn`t in bed. Photos leaked to the media by police show the bloody crime scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Reeva!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reeva Steenkamp was just 29, a model and law school graduate. These exclusive photos are from happier times. Given to CNN from a source close to Pistorius, they are some of the last photos the couple had taken together. Reeva Steenkamp`s family still heartbroken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sort of wake up in the morning, expecting Reeva (INAUDIBLE) to give a phone call.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still so many unanswered questions. Did Steenkamp really enter the bathroom unnoticed? And why lock the door? Was she trying to protect herself from Pistorius or from an intruder?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: According to the state, when all of this happens, Pistorius calls security, the neighborhood security, doesn`t say anything. They call him back, ask if everything`s OK, and he says, Everything`s fine. Now, this is after he`s just shot his girlfriend dead. He admits he shot her under the false belief, however, that she was an intruder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what about the bloodied cell phones inside the bathroom? How did they get there? Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, but released on little more than $100,000 bond. He`s been awaiting trial here at his uncle`s multi-million-dollar mansion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oscar is, like we all are, still very traumatized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some who know Pistorius tell CNN they`re not surprised this happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would have a trip (ph) switch (ph), and you know, he`d get violent and angry and he`d fight with people. He`d cause lots of problems. And I mean, that`s -- the incident with me again was because he was drunk at a party and he started shouting (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pistorius`s past will be on full display at trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When security gets there, she`s already been moved. Pistorius has come down the stairs holding Reeva Steenkamp`s dead body. So no one was ever really able to process the scene with her body lying in place.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PISTORIUS: I will not look at a picture where I`m tormented by what I saw and felt that night. As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember! I don`t have to look at a picture! I was there!
I had her head on my -- on my left shoulder, and I could feel the blood was running down on me.
I didn`t want to believe that it could be Reeva inside the toilet. I was still scared that maybe somebody was coming in to attack me or us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The timelines don`t exactly match up. The food found digesting in Reeva Steenkamp`s stomach suggests the two were up much later than Pistorius`s timeline projects. He suggested they go to bed around 10:00 o`clock that night. But the food in her stomach, the point of digestion, indicates they were well up -- up well after midnight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time did you eat?
PISTORIUS: 7:00 PM. We sat at the dining room table for a while and we chatted about my day and we chatted about Reeva`s. And then usually, after dinner, we would have watched TV downstairs, but I think we both had a taxing day, and so we decided to go upstairs.
I opened the balcony doors. It was a very humid evening. Reeva was still awake, or she was obviously not sleeping. She rolled over to me, and she said, Can`t you sleep, my bubba? And I said, No, I can`t tonight.
I thought that there was a burglar that was gaining entry into my home. I think initially, I just froze. I didn`t really know what to do. I heard this noise and I interpreted it as being somebody was climbing into the bathroom. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to arm myself, that I needed to protect Reeva and I, and that I needed to get my gun.
Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door. My ears were ringing. I couldn`t hear anything. So I shouted -- I kept on shouting for Reeva to phone the police. At this point, I was mixed with emotions. I don`t know if -- I didn`t want to believe that it could be Reeva inside the toilet. I was still scared that maybe somebody was coming in to attack me or us. And at that point, all I wanted to do was just look inside to see if it was Reeva.
And I sat over Reeva and I cried. And I don`t know -- I don`t know how long -- I don`t know how long I was there for! She wasn`t breathing!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we take an adjournment? (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Another issue, taking center stage not only Pistorius, but texts the two had sent each other. In the days and weeks before the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, she actually writes him that she is afraid of him and the way he treats her. She`s actually afraid of him. Many court watchers believe Steenkamp was on the verge of breaking up, of leaving Pistorius at the time of the shooting.
Pistorius`s demeanor in court has been something to observe, alternately crying, vomiting, then looking stoic, head in hands. It`s been quite a spectacle to be behold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEL: Have a look, then. I know you don`t want to because you don`t want to take responsibility, but it`s time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you`ve done, Mr. Pistorius.
PISTORIUS: My lady, I`ve taken responsibility, by me waiting -- not wanting to live my life, but waiting for my time on this stand to tell my story for the respect of Reeva and for myself. I`ve taken responsibility. But I will not look at a picture where I`m tormented by what I saw and felt that night. As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head! I remember! I don`t have to look at a picture! I was there!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Public sentiment has been, in that jurisdiction, greatly on Pistorius`s side. In court, every day, however, is the family, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp as the proceedings unfold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEL: It exploded, am I right?
PISTORIUS: That`s correct, my lady.+
NEL: You know the same happened to Reeva`s head. It exploded. Have a look.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Very often during trial, when crime scene photos and photos of Reeva Steenkamp`s body are shown in court, Pistorius either dry heaves or vomits, dissolves into tears.
That`s six of one, half a dozen of the other as to what effect that`s having on the judge. Remember, in this jurisdiction, this is a judge trial, a bench trial. There is no jury trial in this case. So he`s not playing to an audience of 12, he`s playing to an audience of one, a veteran judge on the bench.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Ultimately, Pistorius, as promised, takes the stand to tell his side of the story. Direct examination goes fairly well, but then comes cross.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The prosecution`s story, a stark contrast to Pistorius`s version of events, that he mistakenly shot Steenkamp, thinking she was an intruder. Earlier, Nel read along text message disputes between the Olympian and his girlfriend. Pistorius says some of her messages were untrue.
PISTORIUS: She exaggerated on some of the things that she said.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Olympian, questioned about why Steenkamp wrote, "I`m scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me."
PISTORIUS: I think she`s scared of the feelings that we had, that she had for me.
NEL: She`s not scared about feelings, she`s scared about how you react to what she does. That is what she`s scared about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The prosecution skipping between events and charges in its questioning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was obviously his strategy. He was getting Pistorius`s mind to jump between all of the charges before he essentially went in for the kill on the most important murder charge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Questioning that once again captivated the courtroom, Reeva Steenkamp`s mother revealing to a British newspaper, "I look at Oscar the whole time to see how he`s coping, how he`s behaving. I`m obsessed with looking at him. It`s just instinctive. I can`t explain it." Steenkamp`s mother also saying that, "He must feel my eyes boring into him."
GRACE: Pistorius on the stand, seeing himself firing a weapon, shooting a watermelon, and then, very coldly, stating, "It`s a lot softer than the brain," the human brain, and laughing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we saw today Pistorius in that video. And the state prosecutor was trying to portray, you know, another side of Pistorius, as a man who was kind of practicing, you know, to shoot human beings when they use that watermelon and it exploded, using ammunition that`s similar to the Black Talons (ph) that went into Reeva`s body and kind of decapitated her. And we know that he made the reference to the watermelon exploding and saying that that`s exactly the way the head reacted to the bullets when it hit her on that Valentine`s Day morning.
Pistorius then broke down crying, saying that he didn`t want to look at the photo that was now put up in court, saying that he didn`t want to relive those moments because he was there, he held her head, he`s the one who picked her up, and basically broke down crying, forcing the judge to adjourn the proceedings.
GRACE: Take a listen, exactly, what was played in court.
PISTORIUS: I looked up and I saw a person walk into my house. I later found out it was Dr. Stiffler (ph). I still don`t remember his face or what he looked like. But he came in the house, I remember.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius, as you`ve never seen him before. And in these pictures uncovered by Sky News, the athlete shows his prowess at handling a gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ready?
PISTORIUS: Ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screams of delight, but this is the voice of a man who sounds very much like Oscar Pistorius.
PISTORIUS: It`s a lot softer than brains (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
GRACE: To Michael Becan (ph), "Sports Illustrated" legal analyst joining us, law professor, University of New Hampshire. Michael, thank you for being with us.
I`d like your reaction to what`s going on in court in the Pistorius murder trial.
MICHAEL BECAN, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, Nancy, I think the use of the video was possibly -- could possibly backfire. And I say that because it could be seen as gratuitous, the shooting of a watermelon and comparing it to the death of his girlfriend. There was also a debate in court about whether he thought it was like shooting the brain of a human or a zombie.
To me, it`s a distraction and it`s off in the periphery. I don`t think it really addresses the core issues in the case, which is, why when he woke up, she wasn`t there, why didn`t he exclude the possibility that she wasn`t (ph) in the bathroom. To me, it`s a big distraction.
GRACE: We all can make a difference. Need proof? Check out this week`s "CNN Hero."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re getting emotional.
PISTORIUS: Yes, I`m very emotional, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
PISTORIUS: Because it`s a difficult time for me to remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But why would this question make you emotional?
PISTORIUS: Because this is about (INAUDIBLE) the person that I cared about. I don`t know how people don`t understand that!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Pivotal, crucial to this case is the credibility of the witnesses, the earwitnesses who heard the screams. Now, their stories have varied, but more than one witness states that during the shooting episode, they definitely heard a woman screaming after the first gunshot, which, according to the state, would have been the shot to the hip, extremely painful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEL: You felt it was safe enough to leave your cars (ph) outside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On day three of cross-examination, the prosecution questioning Oscar Pistorius`s fear of burglary in his gated community.
NEL: You thought that it was safe enough not to immediately fix a broken window downstairs.
PISTORIUS: I had bought the glass for the broken window and it was in the process of getting repaired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The prosecutor accusing Pistorius of tailoring evidence.
NEL: You`re covering up. You`re tailoring your evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The athlete questioned about whether the alarm in his home was activated on the night he shot Steenkamp. Pistorius said he must have turned off the alarm because it didn`t go off, which the prosecutor described as a vague response, Pistorius blaming any slip-ups with his answers on being tired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Pistorius, it`s important that you should be all here when you`re in that witness box. You understand that?
PISTORIUS: I do, my lady.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The prosecution also asking the athlete a crucial question. If he thought a burglar was climbing through the bathroom window, why didn`t he discuss the noise with Steenkamp when he knew she was awake?
NEL: She`s awake. Did you not say, Reeva, did you hear that?
PISTORIUS: There was no doubt in my mind that I had heard what I had heard, my lady. I didn`t need confirmation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On Thursday, the prosecution laid out its case the night Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp.
NEL: I will (ph) close (ph) my case (ph) to say that when you got up, you had an argument, that`s why she ran away screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state`s theory, the Olympian and his girlfriend had a heated argument in the bedroom, and she fled to the bathroom trying to escape an angry Pistorius. But the Olympian says he feared there was a burglar in his home.
PISTORIUS: I didn`t intend to shoot. It was pointed at the door because that`s where I believed that somebody was. When I heard a noise, I didn`t have time to think, and I fired my weapon. It was an accident!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The prosecutor unwilling to believe the shooting was anything less than murder.
NEL: Your version is so improbable that nobody would ever think it`s reasonably possibly true. It`s so improbable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The defense is trying to argue that when Pistorius screams, his voice takes a high pitch and he sounds like a woman. I don`t know if the judge is going to buy that.
According to the state, after the first gunshot to the hip, Reeva Steenkamp falls back into a magazine rack that`s kind of situated between the commode and the wall, and she falls down trying to protect herself. And that is why some of the bullets go through the hand. She`s also shot in the head.
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GRACE: There`s much more to Reeva Steenkamp then the casual court observer knows. Not only was she just absolutely stunningly beautiful, a model, both face and body, but she was extremely intelligent. She had a law degree, a, quote, "wicked sense of humor." And everybody loved her. She had actually been on their version of "Survivor," something called "Tropica Island of Treasure." She was a contestant on that and very, very well liked. She was funny, smart and beautiful. And to top it all off, Reeva Steenkamp was the face of Avon there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful, smart, Reeva Steenkamp had a big future ahead of her. She had worked as a paralegal, but was gaining international fame as a world class model. She had come a long way from the sleepy seaside town where she grew up to the bright lights and big city of Johannesburg, South Africa, where she was shot to death by Oscar Pistorius. To those who loved her, it`s all inconceivable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reeva`s not supposed to be dead. Reeva had her whole life ahead of her. She was going to be doing great things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for Reeva Steenkamp, great things were already happening. In 2011 and 2012, she was ranked by South Africa`s version of "FHM" magazine as one of the 100 sexiest women in the world. Hagen Engler (ph) was the editor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was a bikini model, beautiful, gorgeous girl. But she had, like, a -- sort of like a wicked guy`s (ph) type of sense of humor, you know? So she got it. And she kind of understood the industry which she was in, and like, really intelligent, so always fun to work with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she started dating Pistorius, a South African power couple was born.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s see what`s behind door number one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in 2013...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... two, one, go!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Reeva was baking making her reality television debut on a program "Tropica Island of Treasure Five (ph)," which was shot in Jamaica.
REEVA STEENKAMP, MODEL: My name is Reeva. And I`m a model. And we`re in Jamaica this year. Be jealous. You can be jealous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A private ceremony attended by more than 100 friends and relatives, including her father, Barry (ph), her mother, June (ph), and her uncle, Mike (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here today as a family. But there`s only one thing missing, Reeva!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a face missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adam Steenkamp is Reeva`s brother.
ADAM STEENKAMP, REEVA`S BROTHER: We`re going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister, and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better. We`ll miss her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family is grief-stricken and bewildered, Reeva`s mother, June, telling the local paper, "All we want are answers, answers to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this." As it turned out, Reeva was voted off the reality show, but if she was sad, it didn`t show. Instead, she left with warm, lovely thoughts for all those she`d met on the island.
REEVA STEENKAMP: I`m going home with sort of a sweet taste in my mouth. I don`t have any regrets. I don`t have any (INAUDIBLE) I take home with me so many amazing memories and things that are in here and in here that I`ll treasure forever. I`m going to miss you all so much. I love you very, very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Ironically, the shooting goes down in the early morning hours of Valentine`s Day. Just the day before, Reeva Steenkamp had tweeted out something along the lines of, What do you have planned for your love on tomorrow`s special day? She was already talking about Valentine`s Day was going to be the next day. Of course, little did she know it would be the last day she lived on this earth.
END
