Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial: Prosector Slams ‘Tired’ Athlete For Covering Up Lies, Tailoring Evidence
Apr. 11 2014, Published 8:09 a.m. ET
The contentious cross-examination of Oscar Pistorius continued in South Africa's Pretoria court Friday, as prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the accused murderer tailored evidence to fit his alibi — and covered up his lies — and we’ve got all the details for you, right here on RadarOnline.com.
Nel quizzed Pistorius, who claims he mistakenly shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp thinking she was a burglar, over why he was so paranoid about home safety, considering he had a state-of-the-art security system that would have triggered an alarm if there were unusual movements on the premises.
Pistorius said he was concerned contractors working on the property had rearranged the security beacons he had on the outside of the property, near the bathroom Steenkamp was shot in, while Nel pointed out that the paralympian never communicated those fears in his initial talks with investigators.
"This is the biggest example of you tailoring your evidence," the bulldog attorney told the athlete, who denied the accusation.
Another interesting tidbit from Friday’s proceedings was the Olympian’s admission — after delivering a muddled answer on the stand — that he was weary after days of a grueling inquisition from Nel.
"I am tired,” he said. “It's not going to change."
Nel shot back at Pistorius, “You're trying to cover up for lies and I'm not convinced."
At that point, Judge Thokozile Masipa — who essentially controls the runner’s fate, with no jury trials in South Africa — asked Pistorius if he was too exhausted to continue, as he was doing a disservice to the court if he wasn’t able to string together coherent answers to Nel’s line of questioning.
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"You can be at a disadvantage when you're in that box," Masipa said, adding that it wasn't fair to the court if he was not alert during the proceedings.
Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
As we previously reported, should Pistorius be convicted of premeditated murder, he could be sentenced up to life with a 25-year minimum sentence. If convicted of murder, he could face up to 15 years in custody. In South Africa, where Pistorius had been acknowledged as a premiere sports superstar, the legal proceedings have been dubbed "the trial of the century"-- the same slogan media pundits in the states referred to the O.J. Simpson trial that began 20 years ago.