Pistorius told ‘snowball of lies’, prosecutor claims in closing arguments

South African state prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked the judge in Oscar Pistorius' murder trial yesterday to reject the Olympic and Paralympic track star's defence as "devoid of any truth".

Double amputee Pistorius is accused of murdering his law graduate and model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year. If found guilty of premeditated murder, he could face life in prison. A potential lesser charge of culpable homicide could carry a sentence of 15 years.

Since the trial opened in early March, Nel has portrayed Pistorius as a gun-obsessed hothead who shot 29-year-old Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door after a heated argument.

The defence team says Pistorius was a vulnerable and caring boyfriend who killed Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder hiding behind the door.

"The court should have no difficulty in rejecting his full version of events, not only as not reasonably possibly true, but in essence as being absolutely devoid of any truth," Nel told the Pretoria court during his closing arguments.

Nel said the 27-year-old Pistorius was caught up in a "snowball of lies".

Lead defence attorney Barry Roux began his closing response by accusing the state of deliberately avoiding calling witnesses whose evidence would have damaged their case.