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Oscar Pistorius is a volunteer caretaker at NG Kerk Waterkloof
Fewer media at Oscar trial
Fewer journalists were outside the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday morning when murder-accused Oscar Pistorius arrived for his trial.
FILE PICTURE: A general view of the court room as paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius (unseen) sits in the dock during his ongoing murder trial at the high court in Pretoria, Monday, 14 April 2014. Pistorius stands trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013. Picture: Kim Ludbrook/EPA/Pool
The paralympian arrived at the court in the Range Rover which has been ferrying him in previous days.
He walked through a passage created by journalists standing on either side of the entrance.
There were fewer reporters and cameramen compared to previous days.
Numerous outside broadcast vans have been permanently parked adjacent to the court since the trial began on March 3.
In court, Pistorius sat in the dock, scrolling on his phone before proceedings resumed. He had a small bag of documents by his side.
Earlier this week, Pistorius’s neighbours on either side of his Silver Woods Estate home testified they did not hear gunshots early on Valentine’s Day last year, when Pistorius’s girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead.
Neighbour Rika Motshuane said she heard a man crying around 3.20am and woke her husband.
“The crying was very loud and very close. I remember thinking it could have been in the house.”
She said she did not hear a woman scream.
Pistorius has claimed he thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her dead in his Pretoria home on February 14 last year. He has been charged with murder.
Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act — one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.
He has denied guilt on all charges.
– Sapa
