Pistorius trial ends with verdict set for September

South African judge Thokozile Masipa said today she would deliver her verdict in the murder trial of Paralympic and Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius on September 11th.

Pistorius’s chief defence lawyer focused on allegations that police mishandled evidence at the house where he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as he delivered his final murder trial arguments.

Lawyer Barry Roux said that items in Pistorius’s bedroom, near the bathroom where he killed Ms Steenkamp, might have been moved around by investigating officers.

The items, including fans, a bed cover and an electrical extension cord, are relevant to the prosecution’s argument that Pistorius is lying about his actions in the bedroom just before he shot Ms Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in the bathroom.

Pistorius’ defence team will wrap up their closing arguments in the murder trial of the South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete today, after which the judge will retire to consider her verdict.

Double amputee Pistorius (27), once a national icon for reaching the pinnacle of sport, is accused of murdering his law graduate and model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day last year.

Since the trial opened in early March, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel has portrayed Pistorius as a gun-obsessed hothead who deliberately shot 29-year-old Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door where she was taking refuge after a heated argument.

The defence says Pistorius, nicknamed the “blade runner” after his hi-tech prosthetics, was a vulnerable and caring boyfriend who killed Steenkamp by accident after mistaking her for an intruder hiding behind the door.

Nel on Thursday said Pistorius had told “a snowball of lies” and called on Judge Thokozile Masipa to convict the track star of intentional murder, a crime which could land him with a life sentence. A potential lesser charge of culpable homicide could carry a sentence of 15 years.

Lead defence attorney Barry Roux began his closing statement by accusing the state of deliberately avoiding calling witnesses whose evidence would have damaged their case.

He will conclude his final arguments today, after which judge Masipa, who has more than 4,000 pages of evidence to review, will retire to consider her verdict.

There is no jury, and so the verdict hinges on whether Ms Masipa, only the second black woman to be appointed a high court judge, believes Pistorius’ version of events.

Steenkamp’s dramatic death has shattered the image of Pistorius as an embodiment of triumph over adversity for both his Paralympic victories and his success against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.

Wires