A distraught Oscar Pistorius — moments after fatally shooting his girlfriend — tearfully told neighbors that he had tragically mistaken her for an intruder, defense witnesses said Monday.
The South African Olympian’s friend Johan Stander and Stander’s daughter were among the first people on the scene at Pistorius’ Pretoria home on Feb. 14, 2013, following the slaying of model Reeva Steenkamp.
“’Oom [Uncle] Johan, please, please come to my house. I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder. Please, please come quickly,’ ” Stander recalled Pistorius telling him over the phone just after the sprinter shot Steenkamp.
Pistorius, 27, is on trial on a charge of premeditated murder, with prosecutors arguing that he shot his gorgeous gal pal after they argued.
The double-amputee sprinter insists he shot Steenkamp by accident, and Stander testified that Pistorius has been consistent in that claim from the very start.
Stander also said Pistorius’ emotional state, moments after the shooting, rings true with the runner’s story of tragic misidentification.
“I saw the truth there that morning. I saw it and I felt it,” Stander testified, adding that Pistorius was “really crying. He was in pain.”
Stander’s daughter, Carice Viljoen, said Pistorius was so distressed, she feared the Olympian might harm himself.
Paramedics asked Pistorius to get Steenkamp’s ID, so when the runner went upstairs to retrieve it, Viljoen said she was afraid that he’d reach for his gun.
“I was scared that he might shoot himself,” Viljoen told the court. “I couldn’t hear him. I called out to him to hurry up with the bag.”
During cross-examination, chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel tried to paint Stander as a pal of Pistorius with incentive to bend testimony in favor of the runner’s defense.
Stander said he’s known Pistorius since 2009 and has watched his home and dogs when the runner has been on the road.
“I’m here to give the truth,” Stander testified. “And I think I’ve given the truth. What I saw that morning.”
Stander held his ground against Nel and said he believes Pistorius, after seeing him carry Steenkamp’s body down the stairs after the shooting.
“It’s not something I would like to experience again, my lady,” Stander told judge Thokozile Masipa, who will decide Pistorius’ fate.
“Because that young man walking down the stairs with the lady, with a young woman. His face. The expression of pain, the expression of sorrow. And he’s crying.”
Monday’s testimony followed a two-week break in the trial, which coincided with some court holidays and allowed prosecutors to catch up with other cases.
Before the shooting, Pistorius was one of the world’s most beloved athletes. He became an international symbol of perseverance and hope, after running in the 2012 London Olympics on his J-shaped prosthetic legs.