Pistorius team: 'no intent'

South African judge Thokozile Masipa said she would hand down her verdict on September 11, after lawyers wrapped up five months of court proceedings in Pretoria on Friday.

The two days of closing arguments in Pistorius' trial concluded with the athlete's defense lawyer Barry Roux claiming that "primal instinct" had been behind Pistorius firing his gun four times through the bathroom door at his home in Pretoria.

Roux maintained that Pistorius believed there was an intruder in the room, denying prosecution assertions that the 27-year-old had killed his model girlfriend after an argument on Valentine's Day last year. At the time of the shooting, the defense maintains that Pistorius - who would normally wear prosthetic extensions - had woken up and was standing on the stumps of his legs.

Roux, making his closing statement, pointed to psychological evidence that he said proved the track star had a heightened fight response to danger because of his disability.

"He stands with his finger on the trigger, ready to fire when ready. In some instances a person will fire reflexively," he added. "That is your primal instinct."

"You're standing at that door. You're vulnerable. You're anxious. You're trained as an athlete to react. Take all those factors into account," Roux said.

Roux took issue with the prosecution's evidence, in particular with assertions about the location of electrical equipment that would have supported the case against Pistorius. According to the defense, the prosecution had withheld that evidence.

"The failure of the state to present that evidence leaves one big question mark," said Roux. "That's the failure of the state's case."

Defendant's position a key factor

The items, which included fans, a bed cover and an electrical extension cord, were important in the prosecution's argument that Pistorius was lying about his actions in the bedroom just before Steenkamp was shot.

Steenkamp's father, Barry, was present for the first day of closing arguments on Thursday, as the defense put forward its final observations.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel criticized the defense team for changing its account of the night of Steenkamp's death, claiming that its arguments had been contradictory.

Calling the defense case "a snowball of lies," Nel urged Judge Masipa to convict the track star of premeditated murder, a crime that would land him with a minimum 25-year life sentence.

A possible lesser charge of culpable homicide would carry a sentence of about 15 years.

Masipa and her two assistants will have to review more than 4,000 pages of evidence before giving their final verdict next month.

Prior to the shooting, sprinter Pistorius - who became known as the "blade runner" - had been seen as an embodiment of triumph over adversity, having achieved both Paralympic victories and success against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.

rc/kms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)