Someone else was inside Oscar
Pistorius' home in Pretoria, South Africa, the night the athlete shot
his girlfriend to death -- his longtime housekeeper, Frank Chiziweni.
Chiziweni was
sleeping in his room off from Pistorius’ kitchen on Valentine’s Day
2013. His presence was revealed in court Monday, when a neighbor
testified that Chiziweni greeted her at the home. In the 16 months since
the shooting, it was believed that only Pistorius and victim Reeva
Steenkamp were in the residence.
The
defense and prosecution have declined to call Chiziweni, a Malawian, to
the stand. They believe he wouldn’t have said anything. Following the
shooting, he told police that he “heard nothing” that night, sleeping
through what witnesses who lived 200 yards away described as
“bloodcurdling” screams.
Pistorius’ neighbors demonstrated
those screams in court today. Witnesses Rita Motshuane and Eontle
Hillary Nhlengethwa mimicked the high-pitched, almost howling cries they
heard after Pistorius shot his girlfriend to death.
Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder in Steenkamp’s death, but he argued he mistook her for an intruder.
None
of the witnesses called today heard a female scream, a stark contrast
to the state’s witnesses, who testified about hearing screams and a
woman’s voice.
Nhlengethwa’s
husband, Mike Nhlengethwa, testified that Pistorius introduced Steenkamp
to him as his fiancee, a meeting that occurred days before the
shooting. When Nhlengethwa went to shake Steenkamp’s hand, she instead
opened her arms and hugged him.
Nhlengethwa
said Pistorius, with whom he shared a passion for cars, told him he
wanted to move from Pretoria to Johannesburg, South Africa, to be with
Steenkamp, a model and reality TV star.
Nhlengethwa was sad about the prospect of his neighbor moving away, but it was worth it for a woman like Steenkamp, he said.
The
trial was adjourned to Thursday, as elections are scheduled for
Wednesday in South Africa. Defense attorney Barry Roux apologized for
not having more witnesses available to call today, but he reassured the
court that it will not interfere with the trial’s projected time frame.
Roux is confident that he will be able to end his case by next Tuesday,
May 13. (Yahoo News)
No comments:
Post a Comment