Prosecution exposes weaknesses in Pistorius' defence

The prosecution in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has exposed some of the weaknesses in the defence of the Paralympic star in a tough interrogation process at the North Gauteng High Court.

After a weekend of respite, Oscar Pistorius will return to the witness box on Monday to face more questions under cross-examination for shooting and killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

According to Sky News, the prosecutor Gerrie Nel has declared Pistorius' entire defence as a 'lie, with his focus being on the crucial issue of why the athlete failed to realise his girlfriend was not in the bed when he went with his gun to investigate a noise coming from the bathroom.

Pistorius said he had spoken to Steenkamp in the bedroom and asked her to call the police when he heard what he thought was an intruder and did not think it strange that she did not reply as he was 'fixated on the noise'.

However, Nel insisted that it was 'unreasonable' to believe that, given that Steenkamp was in the toilet, she would not have shouted out to the runner who had been screaming 'at intruders' just metres away, following which Pistorius was forced to admit that he might not have heard her because of the sound of the shots.

The athlete insisted he 'fired out of fear' after hearing the alleged noise and said that he did not have time to think although Nel repeatedly stressed that Pistorius approached the toilet with his gun held out and the safety catch off ready to shoot, even 'wanting to shoot'.

Nel further said that Pistorius knew someone was in the small, enclosed space of the toilet and that the shooting was a deliberate act.