Oscar Pistorius charged with murder in death of model girlfriend

[Nemova]

Oscar Pistorius charged with murder in death of model girlfriend

Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend at his South Africa home early Thursday.

Reeva Steenkamp, 29, and Pistorius, 26, were the only two people in the upscale Pretoria home at the time of the shooting, police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said.

In keeping with South African law, Pistorius will be named officially as the suspect when he appears in court. The first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

The state will oppose bail, Beukes said.

Pistorius will not appear Thursday because the public prosecutor needs more time to prepare the case, police spokeswoman Katlego Mogale told CNN.

He arrived Thursday at a police station in Pretoria.

Pistorius spokeswoman Kate Silvers said the athlete is "assisting the police with their investigation but there will be no further comment until matters become clearer later today."

Police said Pistorius is cooperating with them.

There did not appear to be signs of forced entry at the home, Beukes said.

She also said there had been "previous incidents" at the home -- "allegations of a domestic nature."

Steenkamp was a model. Capacity Relations, the agency that represented her, said she was the victim.

Pistorius, nicknamed the "Blade Runner," made history when he became the first Paralympian to compete in the able-bodied Olympics last year.

Several South African media outlets reported that the woman was mistaken for an intruder.

Beukes said she was aware of those reports, but they did not come from the police force.

Pistorius' father, Henke, told the South African Broadcasting Corp. his son was "sad at the moment."

"I don't know nothing. It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate," the father said. "I don't know the facts."

Beukes said that police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors and that residents "heard things earlier."

A pistol was recovered at the scene, police said.

South Africa has a high crime rate, and it's not unusual for homeowners to keep weapons to protect themselves from intruders.

However, Beukes said, "This is a very quiet area and this is a secure estate."

Pistorius, a double amputee, ran with the aid of prosthetic limbs during the London Olympics last year. His legs were amputated below the knee when he was a toddler because of a bone defect. He runs on special carbon fiber blades that led to his nickname.

While he failed to win a medal in the Olympics, his presence on the track was lauded as an example of victory over adversity and a lesson in dedication toward a goal.

Pistorius was initially refused permission to compete against able-bodied runners, but he hired a legal team to prove that his artificial limbs didn't give him an unfair advantage.

He smashed a Paralympic record to win the men's 400m T44 in the final athletics event of the 2012 Games.

The athlete was among the men featured in People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue last year.

CNN.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/14/w...ca-blade-runner-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[valliaddict]

Wow. This is crazy.

 

[Littleathquakes]

He's hot. what a shame.

 

[YoninahAliza]

To be honest, I am absolutely gutted by this news. I am gutted for Reeva, for her family and friends. I am gutted because as someone who has a disability (hard of hearing fyi) I really looked up to Oscar Pistorius for bringing issues like disabilities and sports into the mainstream. And I am gutted that we live in a patriarchal society where even a women who speaks out against abuse can be murdered. And as someone who found him to be really good looking, well that's also disappointing. Whatever the court case outcome is, I sure as hell hope he is stripped of his medals (there can be no doubt in my mind that he would be). And I also hope that people realize, that just because someone has a disability doesn't automatically make them a good person. In fact, those with a disability can be just as awful as anyone else. I'm sure we'll find out more news about what transpired over the next few days but I honestly don't think I could ever forgive him for this (and why should I?), what Oscar did was vile no matter which way you spin it. Sorry if this seemed like a rant but I'm really disturbed and upset by this news.

 

[chicca]

Such a tragedy

 

[heelscatchfire]

This is distressing news, Oscar is such an inspiration and I was rooting for him in the Olympics. This is truly awful. Like YoninahAliza says this is pretty unforgivable and even if people seem great, that doesn't mean they are.

 

[pixiedust1603]

I teared up when I read this news, I rarely get moved in such a way, because I thought it was just an very unfortunate tragedy but since more news has come out it's become obvious that it was anything but. It's just the saddest thing that there were reports of violence at their home but nothing was done.

I remember during the Paralympics and to an extent the Olympics here in London he was the poster boy and an inspiration to everyone. He also became an inspiration to me and I greatly admired him and thoroughly looked forward to all of his races. This is just incredibly disappointing and heartbreaking and my thoughts go to Reeva and her loved ones.

 

[before]

I remember his less than stellar behavior at the paraolympics, very different from the image he put out at the "regular" olympics.
The details of this event keep changing except for the fact that a young woman with so much life to live will never have a minute more.
It's devastating.

 

[Ives927]

Off topic, but why was he in the Olympic and not Paralympic? Just curious.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Modelspiceuk]

Off topic, but why was he in the Olympic and not Paralympic? Just curious.
Posted via Mobile Device

He was in both the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012

 

[Ives927]

^ But what was he allowed in the Olympics though?

 

[sojou]

You know what has shocked me most about this horrible crime is the extent to which the media has been so sympathetic in their treatment of Pistorius, well at least in the UK. It's amazing how people are bending over backwards to make excuses for this guy and what he has done. Well, you might say that we have to wait for the verdict but it is clear that he did shoot her (he hasn't denied it) and that he has some kind of history of violence/bad temper. Yet all the coverage I've seen on the news is basically like a sympathetic obituary for him, making excuses about how hard his life has been, how he has had trouble with pressure, how much he has done for paralympic sport, how he was crying and traumatised in court etc. How about the poor woman who clearly suffered at his hands, maybe he's always been an evil psychopath? And at the same time you have One Billion Rising marches, all this (rightful) anger about high profile gang-r*pe cases in India & South Africa and lecturing 'third world' countries about women's rights. I don't understand why some kinds of men get excuses made for them. Maybe I'm not making sense but the news coverage of this has really made me mad.






.

 

[Littleathquakes]

Must be the UK media, cause I don't get that same kind of journalistic sympathy for him here in the US news.

 

[chickadee]

About the UK papers, that's disgusting. I don't even know how it would be possible to make excuses for him. Initially there were reports that it was a Valentine's Day surprise gone wrong, but the latest information seems to point to this being entirely purposeful. He also seems to have had a history of domestic disputes. It's all just so sad. My heart and prayers go out to Reeva and her family.

We've got to fix this pervasive problem. We've got to start teaching girls and women to recognize the signs, especially the subtler ones (because some guys snap out of nowhere), and definitely to leave after the first time he hits you. This is just horrible news.

 

[Morphe]

Pistorius was an abusive SOB with anger management issues. I truly feel sorry for the girl.

 

[vandekamp]

Truly devastating. Not to mention scary.

Excuses made for him are disgusting.

 

[Modelspiceuk]

What's more heart-rendering about this all, is that Reeva was scheduled to speak at a school on the issue of domestic violence (of which she had been a victim of in her previous relationship) and now it's come to light in her relationship with Oscar, as well.

 

[raj]

I read some of her tweets...it's sad to lose someone who stood up for women's rights

 

[pixiedust1603]

The South African police appear to be leaking a lot of info but this latest report is truly shocking. I think they need to lock him up and throw away the key if this report is true.

Local reports stated police believe he may have used the bat to attack girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before shooting her dead on St Valentine's Day morning.
Detectives are working on two other theories concerning the bat: that it was either used to break down the door of the bathroom where she hid, or that she used it to defend herself against Mr Pistorius, South Africa's City Press reported.
One bullet cartridge was found in the champion sprinter's bedroom and police are looking at whether he "chased" his girlfriend and fired the first shot before she locked herself in the bathroom and he fired three more through the door, the paper said.
It cited three sources "close to the high-profile investigation" who said the police had a "rock solid" case against South Africa's former golden boy.
A post-mortem examination on the body of the 29-year-old model revealed that as well as bullet wounds to the head, arm, hand and hip, she suffered a fractured skull, it reported.
"There was lots of blood on the bat. Forensic tests will show whose blood it was," one source was quoted as saying.
The latest revelations, under the headline The Case Against Oscar, come after his family launched a fightback campaign saying the police had no evidence to sustain a charge of murder.
Mr Pistorius' father Henke told the Telegraph in an exclusive interview that the family had "zero doubt" that Mr Pistorius shot Miss Steenkamp dead mistakenly thinking she was intruder.
He said the entire Pistorius family was "heart and soul" behind the athlete and would do "whatever needs to be done" to help him clear his name.

The family also released a statement in which they described the 26-year-old athlete as "numb with shock as well as grief" over the events of the past three days.
"We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the State's case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all," they added.
A close friend of Mr Pistorius told how the athlete called him moments after Miss Steenkamp was shot.
"Oscar called me at 3.55am saying that Reeva had been shot. I said to him, 'What are you talking about? I don't understand you.' He then repeated himself – 'There has been a terrible accident, I shot Reeva," Justin Divaris told the Sunday People.
"Next thing his neighbour picked up the phone and told me it was true and told me to get to Oscar's home. I was in total shock. I asked the neighbour, 'Is she OK?' Did the gun go off by accident?' She replied, 'No. She's not OK. You need to get here'."
According to City Press, Mr Pistorius also called his father and sister and asked them to come to the house at around 3.20am on Thursday.
When they arrived, it said, Mr Pistorius was carrying his girlfriend's body down the stairs – her head and arms were "dangling", it added.
The athlete's sister Aimee has allegedly given a statement to police saying her brother told her he had shot the FHM cover girl thinking she was an intruder.
Miss Steenkamp was said to be still breathing as security guards, neighbours and Mr Pistorius' family gathered, and he tried to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
But once police and paramedics arrived on the scene, she was declared dead.
According to a source cited by City Press, Miss Steenkamp was wearing a nightdress, an overnight bag was found at the house and her iPad was on the bedroom floor.
"It was clear that both of them had slept in the bed," the source added.
The holster of a 9mm pistol similar to the weapon recovered by police was found on one side of the bed, the paper said. A bullet cartridge was also reportedly found in the bedroom and police are investigating whether Mr Pistorius fired one shot then "chased" Miss Steenkamp to the bathroom.
"The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip," one source was quoted as saying. "She then ran and locked herself in the toilet. She was doubled over because of the pain. He fired three more shots. She probably covered her head which is why the bullet also went through her hand."

The Telegraph

 

[Littleathquakes]

lock him up and throw away the keys!