Oscar Pistorius, aka “Blade Runner”, entered his second bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa today, with a detective testifying that so far police have found “nothing inconsistent” with how the Olympic and Paralympic runner has described shooting and killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Oscar’s defense team argued in court that the shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp was an accident. Pistorius, charged with premeditated murder, claims he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired through the bathroom door.
The prosecution assert that Pistorius and Steenkamp had argued before she locked herself in the bathroom. They say he fired four gun shots, three of which ultimately killed her, according to USA Today.
The bail hearing will enter its third day Thursday as chief magistrate Desmond Nair decides whether Oscar Pistorius will be released on bail. Police detective Hilton Botha testified that Pistorius is a flight risk after a "memory stick" was found with details of the athlete's offshore bank accounts, according to BBC news.
Botha also testified about the controversial issue of the trajectory of the bullets. The prosecution said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius took time to put on his prosthetic legs before the shooting, given the height at which the bullets are said to have been fired from.
Oscar Pistorius' statement to police, however, said that he was on his stumps and feeling vulnerable when he opened fire. Prosecutors say the trajectory will show that the man took the time to put on his prosthetic limbs, thereby proving the premeditation.
CBS News is also reporting today that what was first assumed to be steroids discovered in Pistorius’ bedroom, may in fact be innocuous. “It is an herbal remedy. It is not a steroid and it is not a banned substance”, said Oscar’s lawyer Barry Roux.
South Africans are divided about whether they believe Oscar Pistorius is a cold blooded murderer, or whether it was as he claims, an accident.
“The fact is, he has shot his girlfriend”, said Hamza Moosa, 32, a fan of the runner. “But based on what I read so far, it could have been an accident. I don't think he intentionally wanted to kill her”.
“I'm in two minds”, said Bronwyn Russell, 32. “The one is he did it and the other is that the whole thing was an accident. But when you look at the evidence and what you are hearing, you think it's a different story”.
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