Olympian Oscar Pistorius Accused of Murder


Accused of murdering his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, Olympic South African “blade runner” Oscar Pistorius is quickly falling from grace. Pistorius’ girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp was shot three times early Thursday morning at his home. Now Pistorius is facing a charge of premeditated murder.

On Tuesday, Mr. Pistorius denied those claims. “I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let along premeditated,” he said in an affidavit. “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.”

Why, then, had he shot four times through the bathroom door where Steenkamp was located? Pistorius claims he awoke in the night after he heard a noise coming from the bathroom. He went to investigate without pulling on his prosthetics. The bathroom window didn’t have burglar bars, and in the affidavit he said he was nervous that someone might have broken in and afraid without his prosthetics on.

He called to Ms. Steenkamp to phone the police and fired four shots through the bathroom door. It was dark in the house, and he didn’t realize she was not in bed until after he had fired the shots.

Pistorius claims he then put on his prosthetics and tried to kick in the door before breaking it down with a cricket bat. He carried her downstairs, where “she died in my arms,” he says.


Seen as a golden couple, there had been no previous reports of the two fighting or having any domestic issues that might lead to a motive. “We were deeply in love and I could not be happier,” Pistorius’ affidavit read. “I know she felt the same way.”

If Pistorius is convicted, he will face a mandatory life sentence with a chance for parole in 25 years maximum. The death penalty was abolished in South Africa nearly twenty years ago, so he will not face that. Pistorius has broken down completely in his two court appearances so far and is clearly distraught over the situation, which does give some emotional weight to his story. But that will not be enough to convince the jury, and they’ll need more evidence to decide on a sentence—innocent or guilty.


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