Five weeks into the trial of Oscar Pistorius over the killing of then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the Paralympian-turned-Olympian ‘Blade Runner’ has finally taken the stand to give his version of events.
The athlete, who claims that the shooting was an accident and that he thought the person locked in his bathroom was not Reeva, but in fact an intruder and that he shot in self-defence, took the opportunity to apologise to Reeva’s parents. 'There hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about your family,’ he told the Pretoria court house. 'I wake up every morning and you're the first people I think of, the first people I pray for. I can't imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I've caused you and your family. I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise that when she went to bed that night she felt loved.
He went on say that he has had many sleepless nights since he shot Reeva four times through his bathroom door last Valentine’s Day. ‘I've tried to put my words on paper many, many times to write to you. But no words will ever suffice. I'm scared to sleep, I have terrible nightmares, I can smell blood and wake up terrified.’
Oscar also gave a detailed insight into his background – how he became an athlete, the death of his mother, charitable work he has done and how he cannot physically stand on his stumps. This is all said to be there to build up both a character reference and an idea of whether the prosecution's version of events – that the murder was premeditated – could be true.
Whether his defence will have the desired effect on the judge (there are no juries in South Africa) we'll have to wait and see. But no doubt it'll add fuel to the Pistorians who are avidly supporting him on social media and outside the court.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.