<p>Oscar Pistorius’ three-day cross-examination reached a dramatic climax on Friday when a prosecutor challenged the double-amputee sprinter repeatedly as to why his girlfriend failed to scream when she was shot four times through a toilet door.<br /><br />In an electric exchange in the Pretoria High Court, Gerrie Nel, one of South Africa's top attorneys, said it was beyond belief that 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp would have remained silent in the tiny cubicle with an armed Pistorius shouting and screaming in the adjoining bathroom.<br /><br />Pistorius, who says he fired at what he thought was an intruder, said Steenkamp did not scream at any point in the incident in the early hours of February 14, 2013 -- a central pillar of his defence.</p>.<p><br />However, under withering questioning, the 27-year-old track star was forced to concede that he may not have heard her cries because of his ears ringing from the first shot.</p>.<p><br />Several people living nearby have testified to hearing a woman’s terrified screams before and during a volley of shots.<br /><br />“She's awake. She's in the toilet. You're shouting. You're screaming. You're three metres from her. She would have responded. She would not have been quiet, Mr Pistorius,” Nel said.<br /><br />“She didn't respond, my Lady,” a clearly distressed Pistorius replied, addressing judge Thokozile Masipa.<br /><br />“Did she scream at all whilst you shot her four times?” Nel continued.<br />“No, my Lady.”<br />“Are you sure? Are you sure, Mr Pistorius, that Reeva did not scream after the first shot?” Nel continued. “Are you, Mr Pistorius?”<br /><br />After a brief silence to collect himself, Pistorius said: “My Lady, I wish she had let me know she was there.”<br /><br />“After you fired the first shot, did she scream?” Nel asked. “No, my Lady.”<br />“Are you sure? Would you have heard her?” Nel asked.<br /><br />“I don't think I would have heard her.”<br />“Exactly.”</p>.<p><br />“A gunshot went off, my ears were ringing,” Pistorius said.<br />“How can you exclude the fact she was screaming if you couldn't hear?” Nel asked.<br />“If I couldn't hear it then I couldn't hear,” Pistorius retorted.</p>
<p>Oscar Pistorius’ three-day cross-examination reached a dramatic climax on Friday when a prosecutor challenged the double-amputee sprinter repeatedly as to why his girlfriend failed to scream when she was shot four times through a toilet door.<br /><br />In an electric exchange in the Pretoria High Court, Gerrie Nel, one of South Africa's top attorneys, said it was beyond belief that 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp would have remained silent in the tiny cubicle with an armed Pistorius shouting and screaming in the adjoining bathroom.<br /><br />Pistorius, who says he fired at what he thought was an intruder, said Steenkamp did not scream at any point in the incident in the early hours of February 14, 2013 -- a central pillar of his defence.</p>.<p><br />However, under withering questioning, the 27-year-old track star was forced to concede that he may not have heard her cries because of his ears ringing from the first shot.</p>.<p><br />Several people living nearby have testified to hearing a woman’s terrified screams before and during a volley of shots.<br /><br />“She's awake. She's in the toilet. You're shouting. You're screaming. You're three metres from her. She would have responded. She would not have been quiet, Mr Pistorius,” Nel said.<br /><br />“She didn't respond, my Lady,” a clearly distressed Pistorius replied, addressing judge Thokozile Masipa.<br /><br />“Did she scream at all whilst you shot her four times?” Nel continued.<br />“No, my Lady.”<br />“Are you sure? Are you sure, Mr Pistorius, that Reeva did not scream after the first shot?” Nel continued. “Are you, Mr Pistorius?”<br /><br />After a brief silence to collect himself, Pistorius said: “My Lady, I wish she had let me know she was there.”<br /><br />“After you fired the first shot, did she scream?” Nel asked. “No, my Lady.”<br />“Are you sure? Would you have heard her?” Nel asked.<br /><br />“I don't think I would have heard her.”<br />“Exactly.”</p>.<p><br />“A gunshot went off, my ears were ringing,” Pistorius said.<br />“How can you exclude the fact she was screaming if you couldn't hear?” Nel asked.<br />“If I couldn't hear it then I couldn't hear,” Pistorius retorted.</p>