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Oscar Pistorius was an appalling witness who repeatedly lied in his testimony in a crude attempt to defend himself against a murder charge for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the chief prosecutor said during closing arguments in the athlete's trial.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also criticised the legal team of the double-amputee former Olympian, saying it floated more than one theory about what happened on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home.
Defence lawyers, Nel said, had argued that Pistorius acted in self-defence, fearing an intruder was in the house, but also raised the possibility that he was not criminally responsible, accidentally shooting Steenkamp because he was startled.
"It's two defences that you can never reconcile," Nel said as Pistorius sat behind him in the dock. The once-celebrated athlete appeared calm, in contrast to some past occasions during which he retched and wailed in apparent distress.
The fathers of the Paralympic runner and Steenkamp, a model and television personality, were in the Pretoria courthouse for the first time since the trial began in early March. They sat at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery. Pistorius is said to be estranged from his father, Henke, and Steenkamp's father, Barry, has been ill.
Pistorius' older brother Carl, who has regularly attended court sessions, is on a ventilator in an intensive care unit because of injuries suffered in a serious car crash last week, the Pistorius family said in a statement.
Barry Roux, the chief defence lawyer, listened and checked files as Nel spoke for hours, occasionally urged by Judge Thokozile Masipa to speed up, elaborating on the prosecution's written arguments submitted to the court last week. Roux will present his final arguments on Friday before Masipa adjourns the trial to deliberate with two legal assistants on a verdict.
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