07-03-2019, 01:05 AM
PRETORIA, South Africa -- For two days, the witness in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius kept her composure. Nevin Lawson Jersey . Then, just as her testimony was about to finish, she broke down in tears at what she said was the memory of the screams she heard on the night that the double-amputee athlete fatally shot his girlfriend in his South African home. Michelle Burger, a neighbour of Pistorius who took the stand on the second day of a trial watched around the world, remained calm through intense questioning by the chief defence lawyer. In a final exchange with the lead prosecutor on Tuesday, however, emotion washed over her as she recalled what she described as the terrified screams of a woman early on Valentines Day last year. "When Im in the shower, I relive her shouts," Burger said in an apparent reference to her trauma just after the shooting, when a police captain took her statement. When Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor, asked her about her emotions at the time, she said the experience was "quite raw" and her voice broke. Nel asked her how she was coping now. "Im coping fine," Burger insisted. "Its been a year." Burger, a university lecturer, lives 177 metres (193 yards) from Pistorius house, where his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, died in what the runner said was an accident. Burger testified that she heard a man and a woman shouting, then the sound of four gunshots. She said the womans screams continued during the gunshots and quickly faded away after the final one. She was the first witness called by the prosecution, which contends that Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp after a loud argument. Her testimony contradicts Pistorius account. He says he fired four times through the toilet cubicle door, hitting Steenkamp three times in the head, arm and hip or side area after thinking she was a dangerous intruder. He has pleaded not guilty. The defence contends that Burger may have been asleep when the gunshots were fired, and then mistakenly thought she was hearing gunfire when in fact it was the sound of Pistorius breaking the toilet cubicle door with a cricket bat after realizing he had shot his girlfriend. During cross-examination of Burger, chief defence lawyer Barry Roux suggested that she was mistaken in saying that she heard a woman screaming and that it was actually Pistorius shouting for help in a high voice after accidentally shooting Steenkamp. Giving sometimes grisly details of the killing of the 29-year-old model, Roux said Steenkamp was shot in the head, which would have resulted in brain damage and "no cognitive function" and so she wouldnt have been able to scream just after the last bullet struck, as Burger testified. Roux said that an expert would later testify in the trial that "with the head shot, she (Steenkamp) would have dropped down immediately." Burger disagreed. "I heard her voice just after the last shot," she said. "It faded away." Her husband, Charl Johnson, also testified that "the last scream faded moments after the last gunshot was fired." Burger also said that the man she heard -- before the sound of the gunfire -- was calling for help, a piece of testimony that muddied the prosecutions narrative that Pistorius was the aggressor. Challenged by Roux, Burger speculated that perhaps the voice was that of Pistorius ridiculing Steenkamps calls for help. "Was it a mockery? I dont know. Im not Mr. Pistorius," she said. Pistorius, who faces a minimum of 25 years in prison without parole if convicted of premeditated murder, took notes during testimony and huddled with lawyers during adjournments. His collected demeanour contrasted with his sometimes distraught behaviour during a bail hearing last year, when he sobbed in court. At one point on Tuesday he covered his ears, but it wasnt clear why. Pistorius, 27, was born without fibula bones because of a congenital defect and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was originally banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete. He is a multiple Paralympic medallist but he failed to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Steenkamps mother, June, said in a television interview that she did not want to live with bitterness. "Ive lost everything thats important to me, and still, I can forgive. I can forgive," she told NBCs "Today" show. "One must forgive." June Steenkamp was in court Monday, hoping to look Pistorius in the eye. But, she said, Pistorius "never looked my way, or he didnt have an opportunity to do that." Judge Thokozile Masipa will ultimately deliver the verdict and decide on any sentence. South Africa has no trial by jury. Tuesdays proceedings were interrupted when Masipa ordered an investigation into allegations that a South African television channel was broadcasting a photograph of Burger during her testimony -- against a court order guaranteeing privacy to witnesses who request it. "I am warning the media," the judge said, "if you do not behave, you are not going to be treated with soft gloves by this court." A.J. Cole Jersey . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Josh Mauro Jersey . -- Arkansas didnt need a spectacular dunk to beat No. http://www.cheapraidersjerseyschina.com/...er-jersey/ . With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Lakers started the 2012 season 0-3 and the third straight loss came at the hands of the rival Clippers. History could repeat itself when the Pacific foes renew their rivalry Friday night at Staples Center. The Lakers lost their season opener to Houston, 108-90, then were hammered in Phoenix by a 119-99 score Wednesday. Kobe Bryant, who scored 19 points in Tuesdays loss to the Rockets, put up 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting against the Suns. Bryant, of course, is coming back from an Achilles tear and knee injury. I told you guys from the beginning I am back to myself, Bryant said. Ed Davis and Wayne Ellington rounded out the double-digit scorers for Los Angeles with 14 and 13 points, respectively, off the bench. The Suns had six players in double figures, including two with 20 or more, and scored a 39-23 difference in the third quarter. Jeremy Lin has yet to score in double figures with seven and six points in his first two games with LA. Los Angeles is without rookie forward Julius Randle (leg) for the season and is 9-2 in the last 11 games on Halloween-night games. The team is 11-5 overall on the specific night. While the Lakers, who are the home team on Friday night, could finish near the bottom of the Western Conference, the Clippers are expected to be at the top. The Clippers got their season started off with a bang,, handing the Kevin Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder a 93-90 defeat Thursday night. Marcus Allen Jersey. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is supposed to pick up the slack in Durants absence, but he suffered a broken hand early in the game. Still, Los Angeles had trouble with OKC and managed to prevail even though it shot 39.1 percent from the floor. Blake Griffin led the hosts with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Chris Paul posted 22 points and seven assists. LA was dreadful from 3-point territory, going 7-for-30 beyond the arc. The Clippers were even outrebounded, 47-33, but had 14 on the offensive end. Opening nights are tough. We won but we didnt play well, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. I didnt like our tempo. We have to play at a better pace. DeAndre Jordan grabbed 10 boards to go along with eight points. Jamal Crawford scored 16 points off the bench. This was the first regular season game for new Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who purchased the team for a record $2 billion this offseason. The Clippers went 3-1 against the Lakers last season and won all four meetings in 2012-13. The Lakers are 10-3 in the last 13 games as the host in this series and lead the all-time rivalry, 144-56. Bryant is averaging 25.9 points in 64 career games (56 starts) against the Clippers. He has two 50-point games against them. 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