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PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius refused to look at a photo of his dead girlfriends bloody head wounds while testifying at his murder trial Wednesday as the prosecutor urged the star athlete to "take responsibility" for killing her. Ryne Sandberg Jersey . "Its time that you look at it," chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel said, setting the stage for a rigorous first day of cross-examination of Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian charged with premeditated murder for shooting Reeva Steenkamp three times through a toilet door at his home. "I remember," Pistorius said of Steenkamps bloodied head, becoming distraught and then crying as he turned away from the gruesome image of the injuries he inflicted that were displayed next to him in a packed courtroom in South Africas capital. Nel said Steenkamps head "exploded" when it was struck by one of four hollow-point bullets that Pistorius fired through the door on Feb. 14, 2013 with his 9 mm pistol. The showing of the photograph on TV screens in the courtroom caused gasps among spectators, who included Steenkamps mother, June. The police photo showed a side view of the dead model and reality TV stars head, with a mass of blood and human tissue on the back and upper parts. Her eyes were closed. "I will not look at a picture where Im tormented by what I saw and felt that night," Pistorius said. "As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I dont have to look at a picture, I was there." Pistorius, 27, says he shot Steenkamp in the pre-dawn hours on Valentines Day -- in the head, arm and hip -- by mistake thinking she was a dangerous intruder behind the door in his bathroom about to come out and attack him. Prosecutors charge he killed the 29-year-old intentionally, and Nel aggressively questioned Pistorius for the first time. "You killed her," Nel said. "You shot and killed her," and he asked Pistorius to say it. Pistorius would not, saying merely: "I did." Pistorius faces a possible prison term of 25 years to life if convicted of premeditated murder. Nel also showed a video, first broadcast by Sky News days before the trial started, of the celebrated athlete firing a gun at a watermelon at a shooting range. On the video, Pistorius can be heard saying the melon was "softer than brains" after it explodes when the bullet hits it, and calling the powerful .50-calibre handgun he was using a "zombie stopper." Referring to the watermelon, Nel said to Pistorius: "You know the same happened to Reevas head. It exploded." Defence lawyer Barry Roux objected to the gun video being shown, saying it was inadmissible character evidence and amounted to a legal "ambush" of the defence. After the dramatic start, prosecutor Nel also started to poke holes in details of Pistorius version of the events of the fatal night. The champion runner said that his claim in a court document a year ago that he went out onto a balcony at his home before the shooting was incorrect. Pistorius said he went to the edge of the balcony but not outside. The discrepancy could be significant because Pistorius says he heard a noise in the bathroom that alerted him to a possible intruder, which would have been harder if he was out on the balcony. Nel tried to pin down Pistorius on whether he meant to fire into the toilet cubicle door at a perceived intruder, or whether his gun discharged accidentally. Pistorius said he didnt intend to shoot "anyone" and that he fired "before thinking" because he thought his life was in danger, prompting Nel to accuse him of weighing the legal implications of the question before answering. The dogged prosecutor implied that Pistorius, who grew more agitated, was becoming emotional because he was faced with a difficult question. The judge noted that Pistorius had been emotional throughout the trial. Pistorius told his questioner that he was trying to be careful with his answers because the stakes were high. "My life is on the line," he said. Nel retorted: "Reeva doesnt have a life anymore because of what youve done." And Nel tried to dismantle a sympathetic image of Pistorius that the defence had sought to build up in three days of testimony, asking the athlete to explicitly acknowledge that he killed Steenkamp. "I made a mistake," Pistorius said. "What was your mistake?" Nel shot back. Pistorius then said he "took Reevas life." Nel also questioned the defences portrayal of Pistorius as a good role model. The prosecution depicts him as an angry hothead with a gun obsession. The prosecutor asked Pistorius if people looked up to him as a sporting hero, if he would hide anything and if he lived by Christian principles. "Im here to tell the truth, Im here to tell the truth as much as I can remember," Pistorius said. He also said: "Im human. I have sins." Mark Grace Cubs Jersey .C. -- If this was Jabari Parkers last home game at Duke, what a farewell it was. Jeff Samardzija Jersey .C. -- Cameron Gaunce scored in overtime to lift the Texas Stars to a 4-3 win over the Abbotsford Heat in American Hockey League action Wednesday.BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Canada will play for gold at the under-18 womens world hockey championship. Team captain Lauren Wildfang scored in overtime Saturday to lift the Canadians to a 1-0 victory over Russia in the semifinals. Canadian coach Laura Schuler was pleased with her players poise throughout a tense game that she said was the perfect preparation for Sundays gold-medal match. "The Russians played absolutely outstanding, and I think that their level of play really forced us to bring our game to a new level, and I was really happy with that," Schuler said. "Obviously, being in such a tight game, for us we faced some adversity and it was good pressure to have before going into the gold-medal game, to face that kind of adversity, that kind of pressure." The Canadians will face the winner of Saturdays other semifinal between the United States and the Czech Republic. Canada beat the Czechs 5-0 in the preliminary round. The Canadians, who earned a bye into the semis, outshot the Russians 70-24, but couldnt put anything past Russias netminder Valeriaa Tarakanova through 60 minutes of regulation. Ron Santo Cubs Jersey. "We had numerous, numerous chances to put the puck in the net and their goalie played outstanding," Schuler said. "For us on the bench, we knew it was just going to be a matter of time before we were able to capitalize, and just really happy with the energy on the bench overall. The kids knew it, they came off each shift with smiles on their faces, like Aw, we almost had it there. I think that helped us going into overtime, just building our energy. "I was just happy with how they responded, they embraced the challenge and they just kept believing. It was great to see." Wildfang finally scored the winner 3:09 into overtime. "We were all crashing the net, and I took a shot and I just got my own rebound and it trickled in," Wildfang said. "Throughout the whole game, we stuck to our systems and I think thats why we became successful today. We didnt lose sight of the goal and we didnt lose sight of our game plan." Shea Tiley got the shutout for Canada. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
