because of what gerrie nel had put to him. and it really was the most dramatic moments of this day so far. because the court had to adjourn. oscar pistorius was let out of the courtroom. his sobs, his howls were heard along the corridor by journalists there. a recomposed oscar pistorius coming back in to resume his evidence a few minutes later. but now under, again, fierce cross-examination from gerrie nel. in a slightly less aggressive style but a very forensic style. very, very -- picking detail after detail. trying to get oscar pistorius to admit to a discrepancy between what he told the court about what had happened that night in an earlier statement and what he is saying now in this, his evidence given to his murder trial for the first time in person verbally in front of the court and the judge. so he was trying to allege that oscar pistorius did go on to the balcony or did not go on to the balcony in a different form of events to the events that oscar pistorius had talked about previously. let's just talk about the very

there have been many according to gerrie nel. barry roux on one particular problem gerrie nel said oscar pistorius had with evidence that yesterday he was changing defense. he said in one sentence he shot reeva steenkamp because he thought she was an intruder and another sentence it had been an accident. today barry roux asked pistorius to explain what he meant when he said it was an accident. >> could you explain to the court if you talk about accident, what is it you mean by that? >> i mean the situation. the situation as a whole. it wasn't meant to be. >> now, when you were standing with your firearm pointing to the toilet door, what emotions did you experiment? >> i was terrified. i feared for my life. scared, thinking about what could happen to me and reeva. i was extremely fearful, overcome with sense of terror and vulnerability. >> one of the things oscar said during his time on the stand, he read out a valentine's card from reeva steenkamp waiting for him the morning after the night she died. it said in it she decided it

>> reporter: well, actually that was a display of gerry nel's secludeness and skill as a -- shrewd not and skill as a prosecutor. he started out with character evidence. it's not the strongest evidence for him legally speaking, but it certainly is the evidence that is most likely to get under pistorius' skin. it also sets the backdrop for his narrative. he jumped between the different charges which is quite overwhelming for a witness in the witness box to have to consistently think all the way between all these different charge. and when pistorius was essentially likely to be at his most tired, he then zoomed in and went in on the very padantic of the murder charge. clever lawyering tactics. >> considering we haven't seen necessarily slam-dunk evidence, evidence for each side, should we expect today to see more of that, the prosecutor trying to get under pistorius' skin and get him to be vulnerable? i mean, what does that really accomplish as far as convincing the judge the state's version of the events over the defense? >> reporter: we should absolutely expect that. essentially becaus

then he sinkholed gerry nel. here's a look back at the -- scolded gerry nel. here's a look at the testimony. >> the phrase "i love you" was twice in her taps. both times, highway is wrote that to her mother -- she wrote that to her mother, never to you, and you never to her. am i right? >> that's correct, my lady. i never got the opportunity to tell reeva that i loved her. >> but on the 14th of february, that's where there were arguments, and those arguments were all about you, what's important to you. >> there weren't arguments that turned into fights or anything like that, but we did have arguments, my lady. >> you never wanted to shoot the intruders coming out of the door. >> that's correct, my lady. >> we knew that reeva was in there. >> that is correct, my lady. >> there was no reason to shoot, objectively, after the fact, as we stand here today, you had no reason to shoot. >> that's correct, my lady. >> why but fire? >> because i heard a noise coming from inside the toilet that i interpreted at that split moment as somebody coming out to attack me, my la

gerrie nel continues cross-examination in the last few minutes. ard the version of events where witnesses said they heard high pitch screaming. oscar pistorius asked by nel if he had his voice tested, if it could have been him who the witnesses thought was a woman's scream. did his scream sound high pitched. a grueling morning on the witness stand for oscar pistorius. he's hadruelinoningce fn the tness d for weoriu s. rryhe's wvera herec ne todjournwice f wecarrycovera. herebbc ne ♪rejoice... fo entered tised land ation. book g.yeah! booking.co g.yeah! booking.yeah! >>> hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. our top stories. a deadline passes and ukraine's army is called upon to combat pro russian protestors in the east. militants strike again, this time storm a police building in militants strike again, this time storm a police building in another city in donetsk province. outside, the crowd converges on an

gerrie nel has been very, very tough on him in court this morning.eing that the court is resuming. they have just sat down. so it seems that proceedings are once again under way. let's just listen in. >> thank you, milady. mr. pistorius, let's put on record what we've seen in the video. you were on the shooting range with -- is that correct? >> correct, milady. >> you and he are shooting shotguns? >> i was wasn't on a shooting range with -- >> who was with you? who stood next to you firing a gun? >> mr. francois -- >> i got the name wrong. i apologizapologize. you and he were firing shotguns, right? >> that's correct. >> then there were cameras. one behind you and one to the side for you to see what the effect of that firearm on a watermelon would be. am i right? >> correct, milady. >> so you knew this. you took part in all this rigging because they had counted on for you to shoot. >> that's correct, milady. >> what was the purpose of this whole incident? >> milady, the caliber of the firearm that the revolver was that i was firing with was .50 calib

you're taller than she is. >> reporter: so all of these elements this morning, gerrie nel going hard on oscar pistorius on more details. nel undermines the bigger picture oscar pistorius' version maintains happened that night. he's reduced pistorius to an emotional state on a few occasions. at one point roux objected on nel keeping on asking about the actual shooting itself and what oscar pistorius had in his mind. the judge didn't see a repetition and the questioning was allowed to continue. gerrie nel saying very much it was crucial to the morning proceeding. we expect the court to reconvene after lunch for more of the same. david? >> thanks very much outside the court in pretoria. >>> let's pick up on the situation in ukraine once again. eastern ukraine in particular. we can speak now to the secretary of the committee of foreign affairs in ukraine's parliament. she joins on the line from the area close to the city of donetsk. thanks for joining us. given what they have seen now, it is clear isn't it, that the deadline for getting pro russian activists out of government buildings ha

gerrie nel, karin did not let up until the end. >> reporter: he didn't. he finished cross-examination of oscar pistorius with a very stark summary of how he, the state, believes the event went that night. oscar pistorius must be very relieved. five days of cross-examination, seventh day on the witness stand. now once again i've seen him sitting in the dark as other witnesses now are heard from. at times he had his eyes closed. he must be very relieved. let's hear how gerrie nel ended cross-examination hammering out points he believed happened one by one. >> johnson, berger and both heard reeva's screams not yours. >> i don't agree. >> they heard when she escaped from you. you shot four shots through the door knowing you're standing behind the door? >> that's incorrect my lady. >> you knew that she was talking to you? >> that's incorrect my lady. >> she locked herself into the toilet. you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting and killing her. >> that's not true. >> that's what you did. >> afterwards indeed you were overcome by what you've done. t

ape >> well, that was gerrie nel, the lead prosecutor in the oscar pistorius murder trial. attacking the details he offered to describe the night he shot and killed his girlfriend reevaa steenkamp. he said it was a mistake, he thought there was an intruder.v the prosecution says they have an argument and he knew what he was doing. >> judge alex, a retired florida circuit court judge. good to see you. u. good to see you. >> we don't get to see like the entire courtroom and the on't defendant refers to my lady, because this is the way you do it in the courtrooms because he's's responding to the judge a woman. there has been criticism for going after him too hard. what do you think? >> no, i think the prosecutor is doing the right thing.ve i mean, if this were a courtrooe in the united states he might d have a problem with that because in the u.s., you have a jury anv then you have to deal with the question of the perception on in the jury.ng the judge isn't going to be treating the evidence the same way as the jury, and let's face it, the prosecutor's goal here is to rattle p

but in a sense, that composure and the answers he's giving back is almost guiding gerrie nel on more, to become more aggressive with him. so, we're certainly a battle of the worlds in court going on this morning. >> talk a little bit about this autopsy evidence about when reeva steenkamp ate or did not eat, and really, what is the point here the prosecutor's trying to make, that oscar pistorius has just lied about his version of events? what is the point of all that line of questioning? >> reporter: absolutely. with that particular piece of evidence, gerrie nel has clearly suggested that it is proof that pistorius has lied about what occurred that night. in fact, today we heard an additional detail to the state's version of events around that questioning that we hadn't yet heard, when gerrie nel said, i put it to you that you were both already up and that you then had a fight and, you know, then the killing ensued afterwards. and he's referring to that gastric content in order to try to support that theory. i have to say, i think that's probably one of the weaker points that he's been

i suspect that's what gerrie nel will be trying to get at.e'll be essentially try to be unnerved and so some aggression that they have claimed within oscar pistorius. >> it's fascinating to see, kelly, because the emotion can be controlled with his own attorney doing the questioning. kelly phelps in pretoria. thanks, kelly. >>> also breaking news in the search for missing malaysia flight 370. crews detected new signals in the indian ocean. new audio signals that could be from the black boxes. now, account wreckage be found before the batteries run out? and could we finally learn why this plane vanished midair without a trace? investigators have a very good hope that they're narrowing in on this jet. we're live next. he conversation. she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit, he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now he checks his credit report and score at experian.com, allowing him to keep trac

the rules of evidence in south africa, had pistorius not raised evidence of his good character, gerrie nel would never have been allowed to raise any evidence of his bad character. so, while it is very compelling, it's also somewhat surprising that quite so much time and so much of his case in cross examination is being spent on a portion of evidence that he may never have been allowed to raise in the first place. >> how is the demeanor of oscar pistorius now? we know just a couple days ago, the judge adjourned for the day very early, at 2:00 in the afternoon your time, because he was having such a hard time on the witness stand. how is he holding up under this aggressive cross examination? >> reporter: today he's holding the up quite well. he's managed to maintain his composure. you can hear the emotion in his voice. his voice quivers and shakes, but on the whole, he's managing to get out clear and coherent answers. he didn't fair as well yesterday, a day, obviously, the prosecutors opened with very shocking pictures of reeva steenkamp's head wound, and that completely unsettled him. so,

the cross examination, the athlete's account of events was called an outright lie by prosecutor gerrie nel. nel's nickname among other lawyers in the city happens to be the rottweiler. pistorius continues to say the shooting itself was an accident, but he did concede that some of what he claimed as his memory were actually facts provided to him. >>> a surprising resignation announcement from health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius. the former kansas governor oversaw the bug plagued rollout of president obama's signature health care law. sebelius herself once called it, quote, miserably frustrating. the president is expected to nominate sylvia mathews burwell as her replacement. burwell is currently the director of the white house office of management and budget. >>> just one week after david letterman announced his retirement, we have a successor to the late show desk. comedy central's stephen colbert will be stepping into letterman's big shoes. the announcement came with all kinds of well wishes for the comedian. jimmy kimmel tweeted, congratulations to stephen colbert, a fi

. >> reporter: gerrie nel, putting the case front and center.listed testimony striking at the heart of charges if b negligence and intention and even managed to cast doubt on the boundaries of his defense casting doubts on his version of events. the differences between the two versions of events -- >> my argument would be that that blood spatter on the do you have a and on the carpet -- duvet and on the carpet was caused when you carried the deceased past that area. what are you saying about that? >> i understand that, my lady. >> but in your version, it cannot be. >> reporter: at times painful for the olympian to hear. >> you fired at reeva. the other versions of yours -- >> it's not true, my lady. >> you fired at her -- >> why are you getting emotional now? >> i did not fire at reeva! >> reporter: nel forcing pistorius to continually recount the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, who he allegedly thought was a burglar. >> i screamed, i said, "get the [ bleep ] out of my house! get the [ bleep ] out of my house!" >> repor

but gerry nel, the man they call the bull terrier, went further. revealing contradictions in his story. perhaps the most devastating, what he said he did when he first thought he heard an intruder. >> i told her to get down and call the police. >> reporter: a clear contradiction. even the facts revealed the food in her stomach. pistorius claimed they had a quiet dinner and went to bed. but a pathologist testified she still had food in her stomach indicating they may have gone to bed hours later than he says. >> do you have an explanation for the stomach content of the deceased? >> i don't, my lady. >> reporter: he offered an emotional seven days on the stand. now that's over. it's up to his defense lawyers to convince the judge and her two assistants that he did not kill reeva steenkamp. legal experts say with the prosecution destroying his credibility, his defense team has a tough road ahead. abc news, south africa. >> and the judge will decide pistorius' guilt or innocence. it is expected to take months. >>> up next, a warning about this video. w

gerrie nel relentlessly chipped away at pistorius' credibility last week and his changing version ofvents surround the death of reeva steenkamp. now, his testimony seemed to be so damaging, one analyst called pistorius a defense nightmare witness. >>> now, to chile where fire crews say some parts of a deadly wildfire that were declared contained had sparked back to life. that happened last night. that wildfire has already killed around a dozen people and destroyed 2,000 homes. the flames have forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate. firefighters had to let some neighborhoods burn because of lack of running water. >>> investigators in california are still interviewing students about last week's fiery bus crash, the one that killed ten people. they say the bus screeched to a stop, but there were no skid marks from the fedex truck that slammed into it. some of the people killed were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from that bus. they are still looking into reports that the truck was already on fire before crossing the median, but investigators have not yet found any evidence

> reporter: it was a cutthroat prosecutor going for the jugular -- >> reporter: lead prosecutor, gerry nel, known as the "bull terrier" here, knocking oscar pistorius off balance -- and then trying to discredit him. >> it will show that you are lying. >> reporter: then nel played this video -- that's pistorius blasting at watermelons. you can hear him, laughing. and saying, "it's softer than brains." >> it's a lot softer than brains. nel insisting pistorius's fatal shooting of his girlfriend, the model, reeva steenkamp had the same effect. >> take responsibility for what you've done, mr. pistorius. >> reporter: -- demanding pistorius look at forensic photos of reeva. >> i don't have to look at a picture. i was there. >> reporter: the gallery gasping, steenkamp's family unable to look. it was clear, his big line of attack today, the inconsistencies in pistorius's account of what happened. >> listen to the questions and give us the truth. >> reporter: pistorius, who once said killing reeva was the accident -- now calling his gun going off the accident. >> let's just get one thing out of the

. >> reporter: it was oscar pistorius' moment of truth but truth was not what lead prosecutor gerry nel thought he was getting. >> you're not telling the truth. >> he has admitted to killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp in the bathroom of his home last year, now saying his gun accidentally discharged. >> accidentally your fingers pulled the trigger? >> i started shooting at that point. >> at the intruders? >> at the door. >> so it wasn't accidentally? >> i'm getting confused with accidentally or not accidentally. >> reporter: this is where the prosecutor stands, but the cameras don't show you how close he is to oscar pistorius on the witness stand. that proximity is what creates so much tension in the courtroom. that intensified. >> you never to hour. there was no question pistorius' love for steenkamp. the strategy, if the prosecution can show he's untruthful, they hope the judge won't believe the killing was an accident. it's working say court watchers. what did the prosecutor do to his credibility? >> it's gone. it's totally shattered in my opinion. >> reporter: the story is just

. >> reporter: chief prosecutor gerrie nel tore into oscar pistorius again, challenging his story that he had mistaken reeva steenkamp for a burglar. his fate will be determined by this judge, referred to as my lady, as is south african custom. he said he found it inconceivable if pistorius feared an intruder he would have checked that steenkamp was safe before he reached for his gun. >> did she scream at all while you shot her four times? >> are you sure, mr. pistorius, that reeva did not scream after the first shot? >> reporter: there was a long pause as pistorius was unable to go on, and he struggled to find answers under nel's fierce questioning. >> after you fired the first shot, did she scream? >> no, my lady. >> would you have heard her? >> i don't think i would have heard her after a gunshot that went off, my lady, my ears were ringing. >> reporter: the strain showed on pistorius' face. he contradicted himself and then apologized for the mistakes, saying he was tired. as he left court, the usual crowd was waiting. one woman gave him flowers, a reminder of what life used to be l

prosecutor gerrie nel pressed pistorius to own up to steenkamp's death. when a picture of steenkamp's head wound was shown, pistorius reacted emotionally. >> i don't have to look at the picture. i was there. >> take responsibility for what you've done, mr. pistorius. >> yesterday, nel also showed a video showing pistorius firing a gun at watermelons, on which you can hear him saying, quote, it's softer than brains. pistorius' attorney objected to that, calling it a legal ambush. >>> there's word that russia withheld vital intelligence on one of the boston marathon bombers. russian officials did tell the fbi that tamerlan tsaranev was following radical islam, according to "the new york times." the inspector general's review found that russia declined to share other details, such as a conversation between tsaranev and his mother on islamic jihad. the review found the fbi did all it could, based on the available intelligence. >>> a missing north carolina man has been rescued from his kidnappers. investigators say frank jansen was taken over the weekend from

prosecutor gerrie nel picked up where he left off yesterday, attempting to poke holes in pistorius' claim that he mistakenly killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. at one point, nel bluntly accused pistorius of not telling the truth in his version of events. >> accidentally your fingers pulled the trigger? >> i started shooting at that point, my lady. >> at the intruders? >> at the door, my lady. >> so, it wasn't accidentally? >> my lady, i'm getting confused with this accidentally and not accidentally. >> pistorius refers to my lady, you hear him there, because he's addressing the judge who will deliver the verdict in this case. she sternly cautioned the prosecutor yesterday after he laughed at one of pistorius' answers. >>> the man who police say caused a deadly crash at a florida day-care center is now in custody. robert corchado has been charged with leaving the scene of an deadly accident. investigators say his suv struck the car that slammed into the kindercare facility. corchado has a long criminal history, beginning when he was just 13 years old. ten people are still in the hospi

. >> reporter: chief prosecutor gerrie nel lived up to his nick name the bull dog and came out punching right from the start. >> you killed her, you shot and killed her. say yes. then nel showed a video of pistorius firing a gun at a watermelon at a shooting range and he laughingly referred to the exploding melon as being softer than brains. this is exactly what you did to steenkamp, nel said, as he forced pistorius to look at a photo of his girlfriend's shattered skull. take responsibility for what you have done, mr. pistorius. >> i have taken responsibility but i will not look at a picture about what i saw and felt that night. as my fingers touched her head, i remember. i don't have to look at a picture. i was there. >> reporter: pistorius repeated he broke down and wept under his questions, but nel was unmoved, accusing the star athlete of lying. >> my life is on the line. of course i think of every single word i say when i'm sitting here. >> reeva does not have a life anymore. reeva is not alive any more because of what you have done so please, listen to the questions and give us th

this after a day of grilling, with the lead prosecutor gerrgerri gerrie nel going after oscar pistoriusing him there were no intruders that night. that reeva steenkamp was not scared of anything. the prosecutor telling pistorius, she was scared of you. it's one of the critical questions of the case. did pistorius warn his model girlfriend that were intruders inside his home before shooting her? >> you did not check with her. she's awake. you did not say, reeva, did you hear that? >> there was no doubt in my mind that i had heard what i heard, my lady. i didn't need confirmation. i didn't ask her. >> reporter: pistorius said he told her to get down and call the police. but this morning, admitted he didn't check to see if she had done so. >> a reasonable person would have looked where reeva was, looked if she was safe and if she panicked. but you didn't. you just grabbed a gun. >> reporter: earlier, the lead prosecutor questioned why the blade runner believed an intruder broke into his home when he had such an elaborate alarm system. >> you said i deactivated my alarm in my room. >> that'

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. >> reporter: well, we can certainly expect gerrie nel to continue with his aggressive strategy to tryo trip oscar pistorius up. and essentially, what he's doing with the strategy is trying to set up a track record that impugns pistorius' credibility. the burden he needs to meet is very high. so he needs to set up a scenario with the only reasonable inference that the judge can draw. because with the whole track record with inconsistencies and omissions is that pistorius cannot be telling the truth. >> so when you look at what the prosecutor is trying to do, tell us how successful he has been so far. >> reporter: well, it's very difficult to tell at this stage, because of judge takes all of the evidence in the balance of the whole trial when she makes her determination. he certainly has managed to point out some key arias of improbability. so for example -- >>> i believe kelly phelps there for a moment. court is now in session. let's listen in. >>> i'm going further, mr. pistorius and saying that your version of events is in fact untrue. before we start, mr. pistorius, i say you've got

. >> reporter: prosecutor gerrie nel, known as the pit bull here, smelling blood. attacking. >> say, yes. i shot and killed reeva steenkamp. >> i did, my lady. >> reporter: shooting his girlfriend on valentine's day last year. earlier, describing the horror of finding her there. >> and then i just sat there and waited for the ambulance to arrive. and -- i had my fingers in her mouth to help her try breathe. >> reporter: but she would die in his arms. >> reeva had already died whilst i was holding her. before the ambulance arrived. so, i knew there was nothing that they could do for her. >> reporter: and just minutes earlier, we heard pistorius announce for the first time. >> i did not intent to kill riva my lady or anybody else. >> reporter: despite firing four exploding bullets into a tiny bathroom cubical, at a person he said he thought was an intruder. coming up, we'll show you the video and the questions that triggered a shouting match in court. a moment so raw, that it drew an outburst from pistorius. images so graphic, that the judge had to put an end to it.

in his final few hours of cross-examination, the so-called, pitbull, gerrie nel still gnawed away at pistorius. as you heard he asked whether we should blame reeva for the shooting? then he went on to say, who should we blame for the black talon rounds which ripped her body? nel asked, referring to the hollow-point bullets he chose to load into his gun. and there was more. >> you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting ant getting her. >> not true, my lady. >> that's what you did. afterwards, didn't you, overcome by what you've done? that is true? >> that is true, my lady. >> only because, it was your intention to kill her, you realize that? >> reporter: nel got pistorius to swing the cricket bat at the bathroom door in court. he did so so powerfully, one one occasion presumably by mistake in a chilling moment, jenna, he actually hit the door. in what can only be perceived as damage control, pistorius's aunt lois handed out photos of a valentine's card reeva left fors car reportedly at his house. barry riu got the athlete to read out the card on the court. on the card reeva w

. >> reporter: the prosecutor gerrie nel relentless in his questioning.ed pistorius harder with inconsistencies in his testimony. the blade runner trying to convince a judge that the death of his model girlfriend was a mistake. at times, he was emotional. >> i will not look at a picture where i am tormented by what i saw and felt that night. >> reporter: repeatedly pressed by a ferocious prosecutor, nicknamed the bull terrier. >> say, yes, i killed, i shot and killed reeva steenkamp. >> i did, my lady. >> reporter: pistorius also caught contradicting himself at times. in one case saying he heard his bathroom door kicked, and then saying that was false. >> you can't give contradictory versions and then apologize. there's a reason for it. >> i made a mistake. >> reporter: these mistakes led to the judge intervening at one point. >> if you are tired and you're making these mistakes because you're tired, you must say so. >> he did everything wrong. he argued. he didn't answer the questions. he didn't listen to the question. >> reporter: with no smoking gun an

in the courtroom thursday, pistorius listened as prosecutor gerri nel tried to discredit a witness.ified as to what happened the night pistorius' girlfriend was shot to death. the wounds and speed of the bullet has been a key issue. robyn curnow wraps up the testimony with our cnn legal analyst, kelly phelps. >> reporter: this week's finished testimony by oscar pistorius, how did he do? >> at times he seemed to muddy the water of his own defense and was caught in some inconsistencies. just how damaging that ends up being for his case, you can only tell when the defense has presented the rest of their evidence. and we have a con decks against which it e-- context against which to evaluate. it. >> reporter: there was a shift from pistorius' testimony in cross-examination to more expert-led evidence. and this expert that the defense put on was grilled by nel, the state prosecutor. >> yes, we saw questions of the reliability of his evidence, credibility, and reliability of the tests he performed. one needs to put this in context. essentially what nel is trying to do is get the status of

the prosecutors are not buying into thus, and look at gerrie nel going right after him trying to breake apart. >> and some analysts are saying that he is moving to another level, and looking to get the maximum sentence, and he believes he has the conviction, and if it is a premeditated murder conviction, it is a minimum of 25 years. >> yes, from the very beginning, they say it is premeditated, but so far in looking at the evidence and the testimony, i don't know if they have enough to get the top count of premeditation, but based on everything that we have heard so far in the testimony, i don't see the judge really buying into oscar pistorius' account, because she is going to compare to the ther witnesses the physical evidence, and i'm not sure it lines up. >> faith jenkins, our legal analyst, always good to have you here with us. >> thank you. >> >>> if you read one thing, an american ceo is taking britain by storm with the unconventional management style including creating the ministry of fun at at his company, and even have a person to organize weekend fun. is he right or overly opt

that it is t has been an unrelenting prosecution or unrelenting cross-examination because that is gerrie nel'stic. he's known for keeping accused persons on the stand for a long period of time. he is nearing the end of that night in question now. but there's still quite a bit of ground to cover. he still needs to cover the immediate aftermath when he carried her down the stairs, who he phoned, what he said it those people, when they arrived on the scene. we expect him to be on the stand for another day if not longer. >> the strategy seems to be to portray pistorius as a liar who deliberately set out to kill his girlfriend. is the strategy working for the prosecution? is there a danger it could backfire? >> reporter: well, it's very difficult to tell at this stage whether it's working because the judge will not consider the trial on a day-by-day basis. she'll wait until all of the evidence has been presented and then compare and contrast the different stages with each other. and his legal team still have the ability to re-examine him. but the prosecution's strategy is actually twofold. on the o

the prosecutor gerrie nel started to tell pistorius that his version of events was impossible, and started to expose inconsistencies in the story of pistorius. last week he testified that when he heard the intruder he whispered to reeva steenkamp to call the cops, but today, his story changed. >> i whispered, my lady. >> and if somebody said that you whispered that person would be lyi lying? >> yes, my lady. >> and do you know who that person is? >> no, my lady. >> it is you. you said that. >> then i made a mistake, my lady. >> and joining me is legal analyst lisa green, and what do you make of the prosecutor tripping up oscar pistorius in his own words and his own testimo testimony. >> well, last week the prosecutor was admonished for calling pistorius a liar and undaunted and tried a lot of different approaches, but he made a lot of headway in dismantling pistorius's series of events. >> and why was it significant if he whispered or not. >> it is right alongside the l.e.d. light, and reeva's jeans, and it all goes to the central issue, credibility. after the trial, the judge and two assi

so, we expect that gerrie nel will continue in this very grueling and detailed manner of cross examinationpinpointing all these small idiosyncratic details. >> among them, for example, the jeans, jeans that were photographed in his room. oscar pistorius noting that they were inside-out. it wasn't likely that reeva steenkamp was getting up to put her jeans on to leave because they were having some kind of a fight. how important are these jeans in all of this? >> reporter: well, they're peripherally important in the sense that oscar pistorius did raise them in terms of his testimony. he mentioned that it was the jeans he could see in the glow of the l.e.d. lights and that he had picked them up to cover the light, suggesting that that was, perhaps, what was disturbing his sleep. so, we know that they've become a central part of his story. and the prosecutors are now trying to use them, essentially, wrest them back from pistorius's story and use them to support their own story. i think that was probably one of the smaller points that they raised today, because as pistorius himself said, the fa

. >> reporter: gerrie nel putting the state's case front and center.case started today. they elicited testimony striking at the heart of the charges about negligence and intention. and even cast doubt on the boundaries of his defense casting doubt on his version of events. >> reporter: the differences between the two versions of events -- >> argument would be that that's better on the duvet where you carried the deceased past that area. what are you saying about that? >> i don't understand that, my lady. >> but on your version, it can't be. >> reporter: at times the testimony difficult to hear. >> you fired at reeva. you fired at her, you did. why are you getting emotional now? >> i did not fire at reeva. >> reporter: nel forcing pistorius to continuously recount the night he shot and killed his girlfriend who he allegedly thought was a burglar. >> i screamed, i said, get the [ bleep ] out of my house, get the -- out of my house! >> reporter: the prosecutor further detailing their narrative of that fateful night concluding steenkamp's jeans found on th

. >>> chief prosecutor gerrie nel's strategy was to show that oscar pistorius is selfish and egotisticalayfy inquiri about the older tsarnaev brot r brother. >> to you think it would have changed anything because the fbi did know about these brothers and had done a number of interviews. >>> when the kaufman family arrived safely back here in san diego, this high seas rescue mission was complete. but that put the end of the controversy. >>> some prosecutors are using rap songs to prove performers committed kramcrimes. >>> "captain america" is the number one movie. the chain he's favorite parts is when "captain america" asks captain china for a $17 trillion loan. >> this morning's "eye opener @ 8" is presented by panera bread. >>> i'm charlie rose with gayle king and norah o'donnell. a student charged with attempted murder as an adult. >> 16-year-old alex hribal is being held without bail. vinita nair is outside of pittsburgh where investigators are still searching for a motive. vinita, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. investigators tell us they worked throughout the night p

. >> prosecutor gerrie nel went straight for the jugular. >> i made a mistake. >> more than 6 milliong in a crash. >> did the president get caught here? did he appreciate that? >> i didn't know anything about it. maybe this will be the end. >> william and kate, in new zealand. two countries where one day hi will be king. >> 42nd and 43rd presidents enjoying the game together. >> with the uconn championship. >> oh. >> i do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair. >> stephen colbert takes over the "late show" sometime next year. >> there we go. feel it in my soul. >> fore! >> drive for show, putt for dough, right, jim? >> yeah. i wish i could do either one of those two in my own game. >> you were on the cover of "sports illustrated," va va voom. >> not just "sports illustrated." the swimsuit edition. >> after launching playboy magazine in 1953, those who don't know you will label you a wom womanizer but i know the truth. you're a hopeless romantic. >> i said, hi, hugged her, got down on one knee and proposed. >> i was in complete shock but i never wanted anything more in my entir

. >> reporter: nicknamed the pitbull, gerrie nel is known for his style.urt by 6:00 a.m. every day. doesn't socialize with colleagues. and teaches little kids wrestling. ♪ >> reporter: a local radio station even created this rap song about him going viral on youtube. >>. ♪ they call me gerrie nel when i get you on the stand i will make you tell ♪ >> reporter: and then barry roux one of australia's most expensive lawyers. people on the streets surround you now to get photos about you. somebody made a parody of roux, too. posting it online with 2,000 hits and counting. ♪ >> he describes himself as a ted did bear. >> a couple of interesting guys. battling it out in court just a short time ago, court adjourned. so that means this two-week recess is officially under way. just to give you an idea of how much testimony we've had, the transcript is over 2,000 pages long. the judge says she's going to read it over the break which she can make a quicker verdict when the trial is finally over which will not be mid-may at the very latest. we're back here may 5th for y

>> reporter: general narcs prosecturo gerry nel was like a pitbull, with a dog in the bone hanging on to every word by oscar pistorius and not let anything, i mean anything go by. nel put it to the "blade runner" that reeva steinkamp fled for her life to the bathroom and asked why would she be standing there behind the door talking to you otherwise? not for the first time in the trial the judge stepped in to the pull the athlete's attacker off saying this question was a bit unfair. pistorius said he left steenkamp in the bed he asked when incredulity in his voice she never asked you where you were going. neither did she say she was going to the toilet. your version was improbable. when he fired his gun, nel pistorius could have hit a child a burglar who was not armed. the pressure from nel was never-ending. >> mr. pistorius, you now, you now have to give a lot of answers and you know why, mr. pistorius? it is because you know exactly, you fired at reeva. the other versions of yours can not work. >> not true. >> you did. why are you getting emotional now? >> i did not fire at reeva. >>

the witness called by the defense, roger dixon, brutally cross-examined by gerrie nel, a.k.a., the bullto give the court a version on an ethic you're not an expert. >> reporter: the blade runner skitting with his head down and his hairs against his ears, barebare listenly listening. his own witness clearly contradicting him in court today. >> i'm giving what i observe and interpret. i'm not saying that anybody else is right or wrong. >> reporter: dixon disputing pistorius' recollection about where specific items in his bathroom were when he shot and killed model reeva steenkamp. like this photo of the magazine rack, which pistorius says may have been moved. >> when the deceased fell, the magazine rack was there. >> reporter: the prosecution, working to poke holes in the defense's claim that steenkamp's body was at an angle when pistorius shot her, not facing the door, arguing with the athlete. like the state alleges. also, trying to counter pistorius' account that his bedroom was too dark to see steenkamp, when he claims to have heard intruders. now questioning dixon's findings that his

when prosecutor gerrie nel came to cross-examination he tore into dixon coming to findings after looking at only photos and some reports. dixon was not at the autopsy, said nel. he wasn't a wounds ballistic expert or pathologist he has only been to three autopsies but stated that the state pathologist made mistake. once nel attacked he didn't let go. after dixon didn't use any instruments as decibel loudness meter on the defense sound tests. to find out how dark it was in "the blade runner" bedroom, dixon frankly astonished the court instruments he used were his eyes. >> all you did was you hit the cricket bat, the door with the bat? >> that is so, my lady. >> and with your visibility in the dark, you just used your own eyes? >> i used my eyes, my lady. >> reporter: nel piled it on regarding tests where a gun was fired saying dixon wasn't there for the test, the court documenter know where or how the tests was done, what recording was used but you say it was enough. nel found out music producer rather than a ballistics expert was used to record the gunshots and the defense didn't use sam

>> reporter: gerrie nel trying not to concede an inch off the pouncing of inconsistent statements from how he warned reeva. >> i warned reeva to get down and call the police. >> did you whisper? >> i didn't whisper, my lady. >> reporter: to the moment he fired. pistorius calling it an accident. then, later saying. >> the first thing that ran through my mind. i needed to arm myself. that i needed to protect reeva and i. >> reporter: now the defense turning to sound and forensics to prove pistorius' story. there is a two-week recess. advising the state and the defense to use this time wisely to pore over the 2,000 pages generated in this case, saying that's exactly what she's going to be doing. robin? >> thank you, lama. abc's chief legal affairs anchor, dan abrams, is here with much more on this. we've seen the prosecutor going after the expert. and not so much. >> the defense may have been trying to do too much with this guy. this guy became an all-purpose expert. and the prosecution said, how are you an expert on this or that? one of the crucial points that lama was referring to, wher

on the stand, prosecutor gerrie nel tried to trap pistorius into inconsistencies -- >> you just starteding. >> no. >> incidentally, your fingers pulled the trigger. >> reporter: after inconsistencies. >> if somebody were to say, you were respect. that person would be lying, am i right? >> that's right, my lady. >> you know who that person is? because somebody said that. >> no, my lady. >> it's you. you said it. >> reporter: a new report from south africa may have uncovered yet another twist in this tale. pistori pistorius described to the court a 2009 boat crash which left him in a coma. he said he smashed into the peer. >> the vaal river runs from east-to-west. and we were heading back west. so, the sun was setting in front of us. and i could only see the sun on the water. >> reporter: but eyewitnesses reportedly have told "the south african daily maverick," there was no sun because it was already dark. and the pier was not submerged. the blade runner's representative declining to comment on this report. >> if prosecutors could prove that he lied about it, that could certainly impact h

with but this cross-examination by gerrie nel, the prosecutor, has been, and you used the word, rivetingeing at the door in front of the bathroom ten feet away shouting and he said, well, wouldn't she have responded? normally people would say, no, no, it's me. i'm in here. >> he did testify and said that he was yelling out her name and asking her, are you okay? and get down but then there was no response before he started unloading his weapon. >> it just made no sense and i thought nel did a tremendous job. he also really was successful in chipping away at pistorius' credibility. there was an incident in a restaurant where he shot a glock and he said, well, the gun just went off. pistorius said the gun just went off. fredricka, that's impossible. if you've ever fired a glock, there's a trigger within a trigger. it doesn't just go off. these past two days have crescendoed leading up to what we'll see on monday which will probably be the last day of the cross-examination. >> okay. and, richard, the prosecution said mipistorius was a temperamental gun loving hot head. did the prosecution do

inside gerrie nel, aka the bull terrier picking up right where he left off. >> your version is so improbableue. >> reporter: again pounding the blade runner about what happened before he shot his model girlfriend when he says he heard intruders. >> what did you shout? >> i screamed, i said get the [ bleep ] out of my house. get the [ bleep ] out of my house. >> with respect to the court i'll just repeat what you said. get the bleep out of my house. that's what you shouted at reeva. isn't that why you got emotional now. >> reporter: pistorius saying he heard a noise that night and fired out of fear. but also testifying that he did not intend on firing at an intruder or reeva. >> why are you getting emotional now? >> i did not fire at reeva. >> reporter: earlier the prosecutor honing in on how he first warned reeva. >> if somebody were to say that you whispered, that person would be lying. am i right? >> that's right, my lady. >> you know who that person is? because somebody said it. >> no, my lady. >> it's you. you said it. you said, "i whispered to reeva." >> pistorius fighting back more ani

prosecutor gerrie nel, picking apart every detail. >> what did you shout? >> i screamed.the [ bleep ] out of my house. get the [ bleep ] out of my house. >> reporter: every statement given by pistorius, who often broke down on the stand. >> i did not fire at reeva. >> reporter: the final argument for the judge and assessors, who will decide the paralympian's fate. >> you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting and killing -- >> not true, my lady. >> reporter: his attorneys, countering. asking pistorius to read a valentine's day card steenkamp gave him on the day of her death. she wrote -- >> i think today is a good day to tell you that -- and it says, i love you. >> reporter: previous testimony reports that neither had said i love you before. while pistorius is off the stand. but the trial is moving forward, with his defense lawyer, barry roux, taking center stage, saying that it was dark the night of the shooting. >> picking apart the prosecution's case. >>> let's go to abc's chief legal affairs anchor, dan abrams. five days of cross-examination, two days on the

prosecutor gerrie nel, sinking his teeth into pistorius' character.secutor seemed to catch pistorius in inconsistencies. >> accidentally you pulled the trillioner? >> i started shooting at that point, my lady. >> at intruders? >> at the door, my lady? >> so it wasn't accidental. >> i'm getting confused whether accidently or not accidently. prosecutors saying he did see her in the dark from his bed. >> gerrie nell, snapped at him. >> you're refusing to take response act. >> reporter: not only for shooting his girlfriend, on valentine's day. but now he's saying his finger was not on the trigger. >> reporter: reeva's mother sitting in the front row, sitting stone-faced. breaking her silence saying i'm obsessed with looking at him. it's instinctive. i can't explain it. then attacking pistorius for his apology to the family monday. >>. >> i'm terribly sorry i put them through that. >> now you say that. >> reporter: the purpose of this is to knock pistorius off balance. in court we could see how physically uncomfortable for him. the nightmare, the pitbull p

stand again today thought to bring oscar pistorius's prosthetic leg to court but it took prosecutor gerrie nel seconds to expose that dixon left piece taken out of leg for tests, the actual evidence at home. now ridiculed him, asking why he would be testifying about evidence that was not in court? the prosecutor disputed just about every part of his testimony. one prosecution witness claims to have seen a man moving in "the blade runner"'s bathroom window at the time of the shooting. dixon present ad photo of a man on his knees to prove that pistorius on his stumps would have been too small to be scene but nel presented to the court that the act teeth on his stumps would be nearly eight inches or 20-centimeters taller and appears plainly visible. now a attacks dixon as he put it, misleading the court. >> we talked to an expert, mr. dixon. you're giving the court indication how much of the accused would have been visible. on his stumps, if he was on his stumps. then you give us a photograph that does not reflect that. why would you hand in that photograph, or even take that photograph? >> repor

. >> reporter: it was oscar pistorius' moment of truth, but truth was not what lead prosecutor gerrie nelistorius has admitted to killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, in the bathroom of his home last year, now saying his gun accidentally discharged. >> accidentally your fingers pulled the trigger? >> i started shooting at that point, my lady. >> at the intruders. >> at the door, my lady. >> so it wasn't accidentally. >> my lady, i'm getting confused with this accidentally and not accidentally. >> reporter: this is where the prosecutor stands but what the cameras don't show is how close he is to oscar pistorius on the witness stand and that proximity is what creates so much tension in this courtroom. that intensified -- >> never to you and you never to her. >> reporter: he questioned pistorius' love for steenkamp. >> i never got the opportunity to tell reeva that i loved her. >> reporter: the strategy, if the prosecution can show pistorius was untruthful about these key moments then they hope the judge won't believe the killing was an accident. it's working say court watchers. what did