PRETORIA - The State has accused convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius of disrespecting the court and Reeva Steenkamp, for not testifying during sentencing proceedings, but instead giving an interview to a British television station.
The case has been postponed until next month after the prosecution and defence concluded closing arguments yesterday.
It emerged last week that Pistorius has given an exclusive interview toITV, in which he apparently discusses the night he murdered his girlfriend.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel says the trial court and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) found that Pistorius did not provide a credible version of what led to him opening fire on the night he killed Steenkamp.
Nel argued that even after the murder conviction, Pistorius has failed to address the court to offer an explanation.
“The accused elected to give an interview to ITV, but did not take this court into his confidence. That’s disrespectful to the court. That’s disrespectful to the victims of this crime. It’s disrespectful to the deceased.”
WATCH: Barry Steenkamp: Oscar Pistorius must pay.
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN OSCAR AND REEVA?
On Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2013, Reeva was shot dead in Pistorius’s home.
On Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2013, Reeva was shot dead in Pistorius’s home.
Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at the SA Sports Awards on 4 November 2012. Picture: AFP.
He claimed he thought she was an intruder when he fired four shots into a bathroom door.
A year later, he was found guilty of culpable homicide and handed a sentence of five years in prison by Judge Thokozile Masipa in the High Court in Pretoria.
In 2015, the SCA convicted Pistorius of murder following an appeal by the NPA.
Now, after spending less than a year behind bars, and the rest of the time under house arrest, Pistorius, now convicted of murder, must be sentenced again.
The court will sentence Pistorius on 6 July.
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