PRETORIA, South Africa -- The first witness in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial testified Monday to hearing a womans "blood-curdling" screams before the sound of four gunshots on the night the double-amputee Olympian killed his girlfriend. Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Pistorius says he killed Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was a dangerous intruder in his house, but prosecutors believe the world-famous athlete shot his girlfriend after a fight and immediately tried to paint a picture at the trial of a loud argument before the fatal shots. Burgers testimony contradicts Pistorius version of events, because he said he thought Steenkamp was in bed and he did not describe any woman screaming. "It was very traumatic," Burger said, speaking in Afrikaans through an interpreter and in answer to questions from lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel. "You could hear it was blood-curdling screams. You cant translate it into words. The anxiousness in her voice, and fear. It leaves you cold." Burger said: "She screamed terribly and she yelled for help" and testified that she also heard a man shout for help before the shots were fired. Pistorius lawyer, Barry Roux, opened his cross-examination by asking Burger if she thought Pistorius was a liar. She didnt directly answer that with a yes or no, but repeated her recollection of the nights events. "I can only tell the court what I heard that evening," Burger said. "I cannot understand how I could clearly hear a woman scream but Mr. Pistorius could not hear it." But Roux argued she had changed her testimony from the written statement she gave to police soon after the shooting, only adding "blood-curdling" as a description of the screams in court. Pistorius earlier pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial to charges of murder and three other counts relating to shooting guns in public and illegal possession of ammunition. Wearing a dark grey suit and black tie, he spent the first 30 minutes of the first day of the trial at the high court in the South African capital standing before his defence lawyer, Barry Roux, asked the judge for permission for Pistorius to sit. The Olympians murder trial was being broadcast live on TV in South Africa and across the world. The first witness, Burger, was called before even an hour had passed as the prosecution went straight into testimony. The trial itself started 90 minutes late after an earlier delay because of an interpreter problem. When he entered court, Pistorius walked past the victims mother who says she came to court so she can "really look him in the eyes." Defence lawyer Kenny Oldwadge laid out Pistorius legal strategy, reading a statement from Pistorius in which he says the killing was an accident and that there were inconsistencies in the states case, as well as an attempt to introduce inadmissible character evidence to discredit him. In the statement, Pistorius said he brought two fans in from the balcony on the night of the killing, after speaking to his girlfriend who was in bed beside him. He said Steenkamp must have gone into the bathroom while he was fetching the fans. Pistorius said he did not notice that she had gone and heard the bathroom window open. "I approached the bathroom, armed with my firearm, so as to defend Reeva and I," Pistorius said in the statement. He said he then heard a noise in the toilet, and was in a "fearful state" because he was unable to run away or defend himself physically since he was not wearing his prosthetic legs. "The state has embarked on a strategy to rely on unsubstantiated allegations," he said, citing a neighbours testimony that an argument had been heard in his home. According to Pistorius statement, other neighbours living nearby said they had not heard any argument. He also cited evidence provided by police detective Hilton Botha as "false in material respects." In the courtroom, Pistorius was seated near Steenkamps mother, June. She was quoted in the Pretoria News, which published an interview she gave to a British newspaper, saying that she wants to see Pistorius. "I want to look at Oscar, really look him in the eyes, and see for myself the truth about what he did to Reeva," said June Steenkamp, 67. "Whatever the court decides at the end of his trial, I will be ready to forgive him ... But first I want to force him to look at me, Reevas mother, and see the pain and anguish he has inflicted on me. I feel I need that." Reeva Steenkamp was a glamorous model and budding reality TV show star when she was cut down at age 29. Earlier, a drone carrying cameras flew over the entrance to the courthouse in grey, drizzly skies. Several broadcasters massed live broadcast satellite trucks around the courthouse. A 24-hour cable channel devoted to covering the trial was launched in South Africa on Sunday. If convicted on the murder charge, Pistorius could be sent to prison for at least 25 years before the chance of parole, the minimum time someone must serve if given a life sentence in South Africa. South Africa does not have the death penalty. A lesser sentence is possible if Pistorius is found guilty of murder but without premeditation. He also could be convicted of culpable homicide, South Africas version of manslaughter in which someone is killed through negligence. The additional firearms charges relate to him allegedly shooting out of the sunroof of a car in one incident and another when he allegedly fired a gun inside a restaurant, apparently by mistake. Ammunition also was found at his house after the shooting that he allegedly did not have proper licensing for. Judge Thokozile Masipa, hearing the biggest trial of her career, will ultimately pronounce the champion runner innocent or guilty and will decide on any sentence. South Africa has no trial by jury. Parts of the trial will be broadcast on live television, both in South Africa and across the world. A South African cable channel has been launched which will provide 24-hour coverage of the Pistorius trial, using commentators and prepared feature stories when the court is not in session. . Then youve got to worry about the other up and coming teams in the two weaker divisions in the "Junior Circuit". .A. Happ capped a challenging season with one of his best efforts of the year.
http://www.cheapairjordan10.com/. Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. . Head coach Randy Carlyle confirmed the news after the Leafs morning skate on Monday. Kozun was hurt during Friday nights home game against the Red Wings and did not make the return trip to Detroit for Saturdays game. . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Any jitters Terry Rozier had in his first career start werent apparent as he quickly made two 3-pointers that helped set an offensive tone for Louisville. Chris Jones followed Roziers lead by sinking a few more from long range while contributing to the kind of defensive performance coach Rick Pitino wanted. Nothing like a shakeup to make things happen. Jones came off the bench to score 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and the No. 9 Cardinals bounced back from their first loss to roll past Southern Mississippi 69-38 Friday night. Five days after a lacklustre effort in a 93-84 loss to North Carolina, the Cardinals (6-1) were better on both ends with the help of two new starters. Freshman guard Rozier got things going offensively by making his first three from beyond the arc en route to nine points, while 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman centre Mangok Mathiang had seven rebounds and three blocks. "For a freshman to get a start, it builds my confidence up," said Rozier, who added three assists in 19 minutes. Added Jones, "Im happy for him. He deserved it." Jones made 4 of 7 from long range and 5 of 10 overall. Louisville shot 23 of 55 (42 per cent) and matched a season high with 12 3-pointers on 31 attempts. The Cardinals trademark pressure defence forced 22 turnovers and stifled the Golden Eagles (6-1) at the start of both halves, holding them scoreless for more than 12 combined minutes. USMs total points set a season low for a Louisville opponent. "That was a tail whipping," USM coach Donnie Tyndall said. "Their team was obviously better coached and more prepared than our team. I say that sincerely and I mean it." Louisville senior guard Russ Smith scored his 11 points in the second half. Forward Montrezl Harrell also scored 11 with nine rebounds. Louisville outrebounded Southern Mississippi 38-33, scored 21 points off turnovers and made 16 assists. Michael Craigs nine points led the Golden Eagles, who shot 13 of 45 from the field (29 per cent). The Cardinals had nowhere to go but up after losing to the Tar Heels in a game marked by bad shots against the zone and frequent defensiive breakdowns.dddddddddddd. A hard week of practice followed and Pitino changed his starting lineup, inserting Rozier into Jones starting spot with Mathiang supplanting Stephan Van Treese in the middle. "I dont really dont care who starts but I was doing it because I wanted to get Terry some confidence," Pitino said. "He wasnt playing the way the Terry Rozier Ive seen in practice. I just wanted to get him some early minutes and getting him feeling good about himself. It was nothing anybody did wrong." It took just 21 seconds for the moves to start paying off as Rozier buried the first of back-to-back 3-pointers followed by Mathiangs jumper off the glass as Louisville scored the first 13 points over 5:02. Though 5-of-9 shooting helped, improved ball movement against the Golden Eagles zone set up those chances as the patient Cardinals worked it around, inside and out in recording 12 assists, more than they had in both of the past two games. Though the Cardinals good shooting cooled off to 12 of 29 (41 per cent) by halftime as Louisville attempted 17 from beyond the arc, the opportunities were there and Jones came off the bench to sink of 2 of 3. Left out of the early fun were Smith -- who had 36 points in Sundays loss -- and Hancock, whose combined 0-for-8 start from long range left them scoreless at the break. Hancock finished with five points while Smith hit 5 of 8 from the field. "It was one of those games where the defence decides whether or not Im going to score," Smith said. "They didnt want me to score and I wasnt going to take any bad shots." More impressive was Louisvilles defensive energy that Pitino compared to last years championship team. The Cardinals held Southern Mississippi scoreless for the first 5:30 of the game and the initial 6:54 of the second half, paving the way for the kind of performance Pitino hopes will become a habit. "We want to play how we did last season," the coach said. "Last year we played about 70 per cent man(-to-man), and that is what we did tonight. It confuses people and gets them out of rhythm. "I want to continue that." ' ' '
