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Subscribe to RSSIn the second day of Oscar Pistorius' bond hearing regarding the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, the Olympian described in detail what happened the night of her shooting. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports and former prosecutor Star Jones discusses the case.
PRETORIA, South Africa -- Defense lawyers exposed apparent weaknesses in the police evidence against Oscar Pistorius Wednesday as a court heard more dramatic details of the night he fatally shot his girlfriend.
The Olympic and Paralympic athlete stared fixedly at the floor, sobbing occasionally, as a senior investigator described the scene when officers arrived at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day.
Pistorius wore a black suit and blue tie on the second day of a hearing that will decide whether he would be bailed over charges that the shooting of 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp was premeditated.
Dubbed the "Blade Runner," Pistorius maintains he fired into his locked bathroom in a panic over a possible prowler. However, prosecutors say he put on his artificial legs and stalked Steenkamp to the bathroom to kill her.
Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, an experienced detective, testified that a witness heard shouting for an hour coming from the house shortly before the shooting.
Another witness heard gunshots, saw lights on in the house, heard a woman screaming two or three times, then heard another few shots, Botha said.
But under cross-examination, Botha admitted one of the witnesses was 1,000 feet away from the house at the time.
Botha told the court that needles and testosterone were found in the athlete's bedroom.
The double-amputee's defense lawyer Barry Roux disputed that claim, saying the substance was in fact a herbal remedy and that police had misread the label. State prosecutor Gerrie Nel also had to correct Botha when he initially called the substance "steroids."
Botha said Steenkamp's body was clothed and covered in towels, and that one bullet cartridge was discovered in the hallway of Pistorius' home, with three more found in the bathroom. A firearm was found on the shower mat.
The investigator said he wanted to charge Pistorius with possession of unlicensed ammunition, according to Reuters.
None of the phones found at Pistorius' house had been used to call police, Botha said.
Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images
The floorplan of Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius' house, shown at a court hearing on Wednesday.
The court heard a discussion about the layout inside of the detached house, in an upmarket, gated compound north of Pretoria.
Botha said the angle at which shots were fired through the door of a locked toilet within Pistorius' en suite bathroom suggested the shooter had aimed specifically to hit somebody on the toilet.
"I believe he knew she was in the bathroom," Botha said.
The downward trajectory of the shots suggests Pistorius was wearing his artificial legs when he pulled the trigger, he added.
However, there were gasps from Pistorius' family as Botha struggled to answer questions under cross-examination. Two female relatives glanced at each other and smiled.
The defense said Steenkamp’s bladder was empty, consistent with having gone to the toilet, as claimed by Pistorius.
It also emerged that Botha had prior dealings with Pistorius, having attended a 2009 incident at the house at which the athlete was arrested but not charged.
There was laughter in the courtroom as Botha insisted there was a risk Pistorius would flee if given bail, despite skepticism from magistrate, Desmond Nair.
As Wednesday's session closed, Pistorius seemed composed. The hearing resumes Thursday, but is expected to conclude by the end of the week.
On the first day of the hearing, prosecutors and the defense presented clashing accounts of how and why Pistorius shot Steenkamp.
A court statement from Pistorius denied "in the strongest terms" that he had deliberately killed Steenkamp, adding that the athlete was "deeply in love'' with her, according to Reuters.
"I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," the statement said.
Pistorius has hired his own high-profile forensic expert to analyze the police reports and post-mortem exam, South Africa news station ENCA reported.
His defense team includes lawyer Kenny Oldwage, who previously won an acquittal for a driver accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-grandchild in a 2010 accident.
NBC News' Tracy Connor and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related:
Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot girlfriend
Sportscaster: Pistorius was 'jumpy' about safety
Mother of Pistorius' slain girlfriend: 'Why my little girl?'
This story was originally published on Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:34 AM EST
Leave a Comment:
Im sick of hearing about this jackass already.
AMEN!!!!!
I said it before I'll say it again, she probably told him she was out of there and called him a crippled loser or some such and voila' another gun murder at the hands of some unstable goof with a gun!
But hey as the wisdom (cough) of Wayne LaPierre tells us Reeva Steenkamp is only one of a FIFTEEN HUNDRED plus gun murders in the last 40 days so nothing to worry about, no gun problem in the world at all!! Oh yeah and vote republi-dumb!
Latest from courtroom- the eyewitness telling of loud arguments preceding the shooting was 600 METERS AWAY- false wiitness/perjury in court.
Mimi
They have more than one witness.
I can't believe this went on for an hour, and no one thought to call the police?! She would probably still be alive if they had gone to the home!
Police say they found testosterone and needles. Pissy's lawyer says the testosterone was actually a "herbal remedy." Are there herbal remedies that people inject?
I went to high school with a young lady murdered by her boyfriend in the bathroom- her and their 5 month old baby girl. Does it give these piece of Sh*ts a manly man feeling to hunt down those they love like an animal and end their lives while they are trapped?
Fry the Bastard.
It is so simple to prove he is guilty and yet NOBODY has mentioned this yet....he says he put his legs on after shooting...so just look at the height and angle/trajectory of the shots fired to disprove his story.. then give him just punishment. This is so full o holes(his story) anyway.
I think the story says that they did look at the trajectory of the bullets, lost.
He made many mistakes in this tragedy and is a coward for not executing a final act, a bullet for himself !
Hang the murdering bastard.
He knew she was in the house, yet he did not know she was in the bathroom, and he didn't ask, "Who is there?" before he started blasting? And the neighbors heard screams while he was blasting away.
He thought she was an intruder, or she was intruding? She was probably getting ready to leave. Instead of fighting for an hour, and going off the deep end, he should have called a cab for her to leave that way.
Love, huh? This is disgusting. I'm sick of hearing about this sort of crap.
What evidence? The prosecution's evidence? That all seems to be falling apart already, even in the preliminaries. The supposed testosterone they found turns out to be an herbal remedy, not steriods. The so called witness that supposedly heard all of the screaming must have bionic ears becaseu he lives more than 3 football fields away. Everyone is jumping to the conclusion that he thought a burgular entered his house and then went into the bathroom from the inside. He claims that he thought someone broke in through the bathroom window which did not have bars on it. I've read nothing about a cricket bat being used in any official report, only on what you people are commenting about. So I'm not sure where the cricket bat "evidence" came from.
I agree that it does not look great for Pestorias but by no means is there overwhelming evidence yet that he knew it was his girlfriend in the bathroom. Most of you act as if you know exactly what occurred and are ready to crucify him when you have no clue. I will reserve judgment until I've heard both sides of the story and all of the evidence is out.
Get a brain.
Boy, I sure do hope if I ever screw up and need a jury trial that I get 12 people like getalife on it.
why would his girlfriend lock the bathroom door if she was just going in to pee in the middle of the night? who does that? more likely that she locked it because he was angry and she was trying to stay away from him.
I lock mine everytime. I have an aged mom who just walks in and an autistic kid who does the same. My mom taught me to always lock the bathroom door. I am 62 , I learned this as a kid. Who locks the bathroom door? Me.
I wouldn't want someone whom I've been dating for a measly 3 months to walk in while I'm doing my business.. That said, I do agree with your statement that she was more likely hiding from him.
Umm most people LOCK the bathroom door and is most likely a HABIT. Why she was in that bathroom and didn't say anything is a little odd. Perhaps she was on drugs? Do you know? His story is certainly a little fishy but doesn't mean its not true all. So he was stupid and scared. He is a "celebrity" and probably deals with death threats/etc all the time. Since NONE of you were there and wow just like the Zimmerman case most of the initial "Facts" were later proven to be BS can we just let this go until ALL the evidence is presented. Amazing all the 5 minutes judge/juries and executioners you have. "Well he must have done it because WHO does xxx" please....
Typical gun nut...gets mad at someone he does not agree with and shoots them. Then, lies and pretends like hw was protecting his home. I am amazed at how many gun boyz are on this thread "thumping their chest" stating they'd do the same if they came home and.... Idiots it was his girlfriend and they had been arguing. He had no right to Kill her.
Welcome to gun-crazy USA. This is why I want to know who has a gun in my neighborhood so I can completely avoid them. Don't want to get shot for accidentally stepping on their property.
this aint America, sam, it's Africa!
Samadams- if you want to know who has a gun in your neighborhood,try asking your neighbors.
Sam; welcome to the USA, where any moron (like you) can post a comment based on pure ignorance.
A self centered man consumed with fear and jealousy...
and guns.
He wants to be in the public eye, then good make it a public hanging. From what little is given to us it looks like he is a coward, and a murder.
When the "intruder" was contained in a locked bathroom, without another exit, the "danger" is contained. Especially if the "intruder" knows the person outside the door has a gun.
Time to call the cops.
Shooting through the door just blew away any excuse, especially when the "intruder" hasn't caused him any physical harm.
Jose Baez couldn't have made up a better story!!
I think what people are saying is that if someone steps foot on your property without being invited, it is completely within your right to shoot them dead. I disagree.
No, sam, they are saying someone entering your home should be shot. Many are saying that they do not feel obligated to debate the intruder as to their intent, and I agree.
Pissy will be a free man in his early 50s even if they throw the book at him...
A bullet in the hall and three in the bathroom. He was in hot pursuit. If she was sleeping in bed when he left her why did she have her clothes on? She never had time to dress when he went to get the fan and close the door and if he's so paranoid why did he leave the door open? He said he was too scared to turn the lights on but a witness said the lights were on in the house and why would she sneak to the bathroom in the dark? Then there was an argument which ended with gun shots. After he shot her he never called the cops or medics but put his legs on, broke down the door, dragged the body downstairs then called daddy. Fess up dude, because the more you open your mouth the deeper you dig yourself in a hole.
You can't get into a deeper hole than premeditated murder; fessing up is not going to help him. He has nothing to lose trying to lie his way out.
Well, he has his dignity to lose, but it appears as though that's of no value to him.
He could at very least have had the decency to shoot himself...
Something smells fishy about this entire story because she was trying to get away from him and he shot through a closed door to shoot her.
We have to patient and wait to hear the entire story to judge what really happened that night.
Cant this piece of crap just fess up to what he did? CAn't anyone take blame for their actions?
We are a society of spineless wimps, and this peg legged murderer is no exception!
hmmm...
Here's my penny's worth of a story. She found out he was on the 'roids and that was what they were arguing about. Maybe during the argument she called him 'Stumpy' and threatened to tell. Poor Pis, remembering the recent disgrace and shame of his 'roid friend Lance...not to mention the loss of serious money leading to diminished life-style and prestige, decided he wasn't going that way.
Poor guy, like most murdering scum, there is always a trail of things they didn't calculate for.....cartridge outside the bathroom, neighbours hearing the arguments, the angle of the shots. I hope his pretty face gets him all the attention he deserves in lock-up. And I say this not because I love it when bad things happen to people, but in the context of the mother's deep pain and confusion at the sudden and violent loss of a dearly loved daughter.
Money is the root of evil... These people get rich, then cause their own problems because they don't know what to do with themselves anymore. Too much freedom....idle hands....devils playground... Some can handle the money and fame, some can't.
I always thought South Africa was a safe tourist area.
I think this guy is in a lot of trouble. I'm sure he will try to blame it on the steroids.
By the way, who injects "herbal remedies"?