Oscar in Nel's web

"Conspiracy theories" and testimony that police tried to frame Oscar Pistorius for murder were smacked down by the prosecution in the Pretoria High Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel tried to show the improbability of Pistorius's version of how he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

The disputed evidence includes:

• Whether a bedroom light was on when Pistorius woke shortly before the shooting;
• Whether Pistorius went onto the balcony to scream for help;
• Where fans were in his bedroom; and
• The position of a duvet, the curtains and the sliding door to the balcony.

Pistorius insisted yesterday that the bedroom was in complete darkness, the curtains were drawn and the fans were positioned between the slightly open sliding doors.

Photographs of the crime scene taken at 5.58am on February 14 2013 show the lights on, the curtains fully open, the doors wide open and the foot of a fan positioned on the rail of the sliding door, which contradicts Pistorius's version of events.

Nel argued that Pistorius's attempt to accuse the police of having tampered with the scene could not be supported given that the photos would have been taken even before police knew of his defence.

Nel said: "Is this one big conspiracy, Mr Pistorius?

"Whatever you are trying to do, Mr Pistorius, it is not working . your version is so improbable that no one would ever think it is reasonably possibly true . it's so impossible."

Criminal defence lawyer William Booth told The Times that Nel's cross-examination was intended to break down Pistorius's version of events.

"What is incredibly important is the differences in what he told the bail court and what he is now telling the trial court," Booth said.

In his bail application Pistorius said there was one fan that he had brought in from the balcony, and that he had spoken to Steenkamp before they had gone to sleep earlier in the night.

In his plea explanation, he said he had spoken to Steenkamp when he had woken up to bring in two fans.

Pistorius stands accused of deliberately murdering Steenkamp following a heated argument. He maintains he mistook her for an intruder.

Nel, presenting Pistorius as an egotistical, narcissistic and negligent gun-loving individual who fails to take responsibility for his actions, drilled him on why he shot at a locked toilet door.

"You say you fired by mistake?"

"Yes," said Pistorius, "I didn't have time to think. There was a noise. I can't remember how many shots I fired. I just fired . in quick succession."

Nel retorted: "You are a gun enthusiast who doesn't have time to think."

Pistorius agreed with Nel when he said the athlete had no reason to open fire.

"We know for a fact there were no intruders in your house that night, we know for a fact there was no ladder against the wall," said Nel. "We know for a fact that you had no reason to shoot, objectively speaking."

Pistorius replied: "That's correct, my lady."

Turning to the firearm and ammunition charges against Pistorius, Nel pushed him into admitting he had been negligent in storing ammunition for his father.

"It is against the law. You are so willing not to take responsibility even up to the point of blaming your counsel for telling you it is okay," Nel said.

Dealing with the time a gun went off at a restaurant in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, last year, Nel told Pistorius that if the gun passed to him by his friend Darren Fresco had a safety mechanism, a shot could have gone off only if the trigger was pulled.

Pistorius refused to admit that he had pulled the trigger.

Pistorius told the court he had heard that his ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor and friend Fresco had communicated with each other before testifying about him allegedly firing a shot through the sunroof of a car. He denied firing the shot and referred to the incident as a "complete fabrication".

When Nel asked who had told him of this collusion, Pistorius said: "People, my lady."

"Which people," asked Nel, to which Pistorius replied he could not remember, prompting laughter from Nel and the gallery.

They were reprimanded by Judge Thokozile Masipa: "Some of you may think that it is entertainment but it is not,'' she told the public gallery.

Additional reporting by Tymon Smith and AFP