(6 Mar 2014) Oscar Pistorius' lead defence lawyer cross-examined one of the athlete's neighbours on Thursday over how many gunshots he thought he heard and at what time, on the night of the death of Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Lawyer Barry Roux said Charl Johnson's testimony and statements to police were manipulated to match those of his wife, who testified on the opening day, and were an attempt to "incriminate" the accused.
"There is a design on your side to incriminate and that is unfortunate, but we will deal with it. That is what I will put to you. Do you want to answer?" asked Roux.
Johnson disputed Roux's claim.
"I do not agree. I have no reason to want to design a incriminating statement in this case. It's not the truth," he said.
The defence also accused the witness of not being close enough to the house to hear the screams of a woman.
"There is no way that even standing on the balcony, even standing closer, that you would have been able to hear screams. If it was inside the toilet," said Roux.
Johnson stood by his claim that he did hear the screams and that it was "possible for the sound to travel that far."
Johnson and his wife live 177 metres (196 yards) from the villa where Steenkamp died after being shot through a bathroom door by Pistorius, who claimed he thought she was an intruder.
Roux did get Johnson to concede right at the end of the court session that he never heard what he thought was the woman's voice and the man's voice at the same time.
Roux wants to show that it was the same person, and that it was Pistorius who was screaming.
The sequence of event,s soon after 3 a.m. on the morning of 14 February 2013, is a critical aspect of the case.
Prosecutors say there was a loud argument between Pistorius and Steenkamp before the shooting.
Pistorius says there was no argument and he killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, by accident thinking she was an intruder in his home.
The trial continues.


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