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PRETORIA, South Africa -- For two days, the witness in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius kept her composure. Stan Olejniczak Jersey Retro . Then, just as her testimony was about to finish, she broke down in tears at what she said was the memory of the screams she heard on the night that the double-amputee athlete fatally shot his girlfriend in his South African home. Michelle Burger, a neighbour of Pistorius who took the stand on the second day of a trial watched around the world, remained calm through intense questioning by the chief defence lawyer. In a final exchange with the lead prosecutor on Tuesday, however, emotion washed over her as she recalled what she described as the terrified screams of a woman early on Valentines Day last year. "When Im in the shower, I relive her shouts," Burger said in an apparent reference to her trauma just after the shooting, when a police captain took her statement. When Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor, asked her about her emotions at the time, she said the experience was "quite raw" and her voice broke. Nel asked her how she was coping now. "Im coping fine," Burger insisted. "Its been a year." Burger, a university lecturer, lives 177 metres (193 yards) from Pistorius house, where his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, died in what the runner said was an accident. Burger testified that she heard a man and a woman shouting, then the sound of four gunshots. She said the womans screams continued during the gunshots and quickly faded away after the final one. She was the first witness called by the prosecution, which contends that Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp after a loud argument. Her testimony contradicts Pistorius account. He says he fired four times through the toilet cubicle door, hitting Steenkamp three times in the head, arm and hip or side area after thinking she was a dangerous intruder. He has pleaded not guilty. The defence contends that Burger may have been asleep when the gunshots were fired, and then mistakenly thought she was hearing gunfire when in fact it was the sound of Pistorius breaking the toilet cubicle door with a cricket bat after realizing he had shot his girlfriend. During cross-examination of Burger, chief defence lawyer Barry Roux suggested that she was mistaken in saying that she heard a woman screaming and that it was actually Pistorius shouting for help in a high voice after accidentally shooting Steenkamp. Giving sometimes grisly details of the killing of the 29-year-old model, Roux said Steenkamp was shot in the head, which would have resulted in brain damage and "no cognitive function" and so she wouldnt have been able to scream just after the last bullet struck, as Burger testified. Roux said that an expert would later testify in the trial that "with the head shot, she (Steenkamp) would have dropped down immediately." Burger disagreed. "I heard her voice just after the last shot," she said. "It faded away." Her husband, Charl Johnson, also testified that "the last scream faded moments after the last gunshot was fired." Burger also said that the man she heard -- before the sound of the gunfire -- was calling for help, a piece of testimony that muddied the prosecutions narrative that Pistorius was the aggressor. Challenged by Roux, Burger speculated that perhaps the voice was that of Pistorius ridiculing Steenkamps calls for help. "Was it a mockery? I dont know. Im not Mr. Pistorius," she said. Pistorius, who faces a minimum of 25 years in prison without parole if convicted of premeditated murder, took notes during testimony and huddled with lawyers during adjournments. His collected demeanour contrasted with his sometimes distraught behaviour during a bail hearing last year, when he sobbed in court. At one point on Tuesday he covered his ears, but it wasnt clear why. Pistorius, 27, was born without fibula bones because of a congenital defect and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was originally banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete. He is a multiple Paralympic medallist but he failed to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Steenkamps mother, June, said in a television interview that she did not want to live with bitterness. "Ive lost everything thats important to me, and still, I can forgive. I can forgive," she told NBCs "Today" show. "One must forgive." June Steenkamp was in court Monday, hoping to look Pistorius in the eye. But, she said, Pistorius "never looked my way, or he didnt have an opportunity to do that." Judge Thokozile Masipa will ultimately deliver the verdict and decide on any sentence. South Africa has no trial by jury. Tuesdays proceedings were interrupted when Masipa ordered an investigation into allegations that a South African television channel was broadcasting a photograph of Burger during her testimony -- against a court order guaranteeing privacy to witnesses who request it. "I am warning the media," the judge said, "if you do not behave, you are not going to be treated with soft gloves by this court." Cheap Jerseys 2020 . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. Joe Francis Jersey Retro . Dallas (2-0-1) sits atop the Western Conference with an MLS-best seven points. Castillo opened the scoring in the 71st minute off a Mauro Diaz set piece, and Watson outran defender Tony Lochhead on a long ball and then juked goalkeeper Ian Kennedy for the eventual game-winner in the 78th minute. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/matt-szymanski-jersey-retro/ . The Rainbow FlickNext up is the Rainbow Flick, or as you probably know it, the trick that everybody at soccer camp thought they knew how to do.CHICAGO - The White Sox finalized a $42 million, three-year contract with free agent Melky Cabrera on Monday, bolstering their outfield with their latest big move in an impressive off-season.Cabrera will make $13 million in 2015, $14 million in 2016 and $15 million in the final season of the contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The agreement also includes limited trade provision for the 30-year-old left fielder, who hit .301 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs in 139 games with Toronto last season.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the contract. The busy White Sox scheduled a news conference for Tuesday to introduce off-season acquisitions Jeff Samardzija and David Robertson, and the team could announce Cabreras deal at the same time.White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton welcomed Cabrera in a tweet on Saturday night, and then Cabrera retweeted the message — signalling a deal was imminent. WSCR-AM 670 was the first to report the agreement.Cabrera could slot in behind Eaton in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. He made his major league debut in 2005 with the New York Yankees and is a .286 career hitter with 88 homers and 520 RBIs in 1,211 games.Cabrera had his best season in 2012 with San Francisco, when he batted .346 with 11 homers and 60 RBIs in 113 games. He also was the MVP of the AAll-Star game that year, but missed the last part of the season when he was suspended for 50 games for a positive test for artificial testosterone. Rod Rutledge Jersey Retro. The Giants went on to win the World Series, and Cabrera reached a $16 million, two-year contract with Toronto in November 2012. The Blue Jays extended a $15.3 million qualifying offer to the free agent last month, which was not accepted. Because of the offer, the White Sox will lose their second-round pick in Junes amateur draft. Chicagos No. 8 overall pick is protected because its in the top 10.The lost draft pick is of little concern to the White Sox right now. They hope they are poised to contend in the AL Central after a 73-89 record and fourth-place finish this year.Chicago has been one of the majors most active teams this off-season. General manager Rick Hahn strengthened Chicagos beleaguered bullpen by signing free agents Zach Duke ($15 million, three years) and Robertson ($46 million, four years). The White Sox also signed Adam LaRoche ($25 million, two years) to provide some lefty power.Samardzija was acquired in a trade with Oakland, giving Chicago another strong starting pitcher to pair with ace Chris Sale. The right-hander has made 33 starts and pitched more than 200 innings in each of the past two seasons.___AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report. ' ' ' |
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