What would they have said? Pistorius witnesses who were not called to testify

Advocate Gerrie Nel closed the prosecution's case against murder accused Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday, calling 21 out of a total of 107 potential witnesses.

If you have been following the trial like a soap opera and feel slightly robbed because you wanted more fireworks, you are probably right.

Some of those not called could have provided for some interesting - albeit unnecessary - tidbits on the Paralympian's life.

We cannot help but wonder what sensational claims the following people could have provided had they taken the stand.

Werner Swart takes a look:

Mark Batchelor

Soccer's bad boy and the man who was booted off SuperSport for fights and bad behaviour had a run-in with Pistorius about five months before the Valentine's Day shooting.

Batchelor and Pistorius sent each other a string of threatening messages after the Paralympian took issue with Batchelor's friend, Quinton van den Bergh, over Pistorius's ex-girlfriend, Samantha Taylor.

Rumours did the rounds that Taylor cheated on Pistorius with Van den Bergh while he was on an athletics trip.

What followed was, depending on your sense of humour, a somewhat hilarious exchange between the two testosterone-fuelled athletes.

Batchelor claimed Pistorius threatened he would "break his legs", and the barrage of threats between the two at one stage even caused the police to call them in and tell them to tone things down.

Nel's decision not to call Batchelor could be because the witness himself has a history of rude and violent behaviour.

But there is no doubt the millions of viewers following the trial closely were robbed of the street fight that might have resulted had defence advocate Barry Roux taken on the former striker.

Jacques van der Merwe

Van der Merwe and his wife, Estelle, live close to Pistorius in the Silver Woods Country Estate.

Estelle was called to testify about an argument she heard about two hours before the shooting, when, she claimed, she heard a "woman crying".

That was until Roux, who no doubt had seen a statement from her husband, pointed out to her that her husband had told her: "No, that is Oscar crying."

It seems Van der Merwe is one of the witnesses who can attest to Roux's claim that Pistorius sounds like a woman when he screams - and apparently also when he cries.

Expect him to be called by the defence.

Johan Stander

The Silver Woods estate manager was the first person Pistorius called after the shooting and he and his daughter were first on the scene.

Stander was close to Pistorius and was one of the first people to whom the athlete told the "I thought she was an intruder" version.

Strangely, Stander phoned Dr Johan Stipp, the radiologist and witness who tried to assist a dying Reeva Steenkamp, minutes after he left the house to tell him Pistorius's lawyers would be calling him.

Stander is also highly likely to be called by the defence, even if it is just to reaffirm that Pistorius mentioned an "intruder" from the start.

Justin Divaris

Pistorius's "best friend", Divaris is a supercar mogul and the person who introduced him to Steenkamp.

One common thread in the circle of friends that Pistorius surrounded himself with is that Divaris was the man who brought them together.

Known for his many "breakfast runs" - when celebrities and models drive supercars provided by Divaris - he was one of the first people the athlete called.

Samantha Greyvenstein 

A model and Divaris's girlfriend, Greyvenstein was close to Steenkamp.

She could have provided some interesting insight into how Steenkamp felt about her new boyfriend and whether there were signs of trouble.

Patricia Ann Taylor

The mother of witness Samantha Taylor did not hide her disdain for Pistorius after the incident.

She used Facebook to write: "'I'm so glad Sammy is safe and out of the clutches of that man".

Her daughter testified about the many incidents during which Pistorius shouted at her and lost his temper, and her mother would have had no kind words for the Olympic superstar.

Erin Stear

Was Pistorius in an exclusive relationship with Steenkamp from the time they first hooked up?

British tabloids claimed Stear was having a fling with Pistorius during the time he was supposed to have been with Steenkamp.

She denied the rumours and, even though she was quizzed by detectives and her name was put on the witness list, she was not called.

Gina Myers and the Myers family

Gina and Steenkamp were best friends and the model lived with the Myers family in Johannesburg.

It was Steenkamp's "Joburg dad", Cecil Myers, who identified her body.

Gina could have provided some interesting information about the state of the relationship and whether Steenkamp ever confided in her about her boyfriend's temper.

Warren Lahoud

Lahoud is Steenkamp's former long-term boyfriend and had coffee with her a few days before the shooting.

He has publicly spoken about how Pistorius phoned Steenkamp several times during this meeting and how he asked her whether she was OK.

It seems rather unfortunate that we will now never truly know what she told her ex - but if it was something dramatic, Nel would have called him.

Hilton Botha

Roux can be forgiven for crying softly on his pillow each night. He would probably have waived his hefty legal fees for one more chance at the former investigating officer.

Nel decided, rather wisely one could say, not to call Botha back to the stand.

He had seen how Roux annihilated the former detective during the bail application, and Botha's conduct on the scene could have provided ample fodder for the defence.