South African athletics star, Oscar Pistorius shot his
girlfriend three times as she was in the bathroom at his home, prosecutors have
said.
Details of the case against
Pistorius, accused of the premeditated murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp,
are emerging at a bail hearing, reports the BBC.
He wept as he heard the account, but
his lawyers told the court in Pretoria the killing was "not even
murder".
The court appearance comes on the
same day as her funeral in Port Elizabeth.
The prosecution is pursuing a charge
of premeditated murder against the 26-year-old athlete.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court
that on the night of the killing Pistorius - a double amputee - got up, put on
his prostheses, walked seven metres and fired his gun through the bathroom
door.
He shot four times and hit Ms
Steenkamp three times, he said. The defendant later broke down the bathroom
door and carried the victim downstairs, Nel added.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux told the
court his client did not know in advance who was behind the door.
He said the prosecution had provided
"no evidence of premeditated murder", and that it was not even
murder.
Pistorius was sobbing as his lawyer
spoke, the BBC's Andrew Harding reports from the courtroom.
Following Thursday's killing there was
media speculation that Ms Steenkamp had been mistaken for an intruder but
police rejected that possibility.
The family of the 29-year-old victim
spoke of their grief in a newspaper interview published on Monday.
Her mother June Steenkamp told the
Times of South Africa: "All we want are answers... answers as to why this
had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."
The case has aroused huge interest
both in South Africa, where Oscar Pistorius is regarded as a national hero, and
around the world.
Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic
champion, competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games at London 2012.
Tags
Sports
How could you shoot severally and claim you dont know who was behind the door ?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the lady cheated on him with another lover and he could not take it and did not want a peaceful separation.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are wrong, u weren't there so keep shut
ReplyDeleteN u dat wz der y dnt u open ur big mouth n tell us wot happpnd, mtcheeeew...
ReplyDeleteI dey laugh oooo, commentator are so funny wt theiir response..... Stil laghing
ReplyDelete