South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has described the moment he fired the shots which killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home. He told his trial in Pretoria he had heard noises from the toilet and thought an intruder was coming out.
“In the early hours of 14 February 2013, he said he had got up from bed to bring in some fans he had left outside, in order to cool his bedroom. When he heard a window opening in the bathroom, he said, he thought there was a burglar trying to get in. Wanting to protect Ms Steenkamp, who was not sleeping, he had gone to get his gun in the dark. I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police,” he said. He said he then went into the passage without his prosthetic legs and, overcome with fear, started screaming, and shouted for Ms Steenkamp to get to the floor. The toilet door slammed, reconfirming his belief there was a person or people in the bathroom, the athlete said. I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet,” he said tearfully. At that point, he shot at the door. After the shooting, Mr Pistorius said he had smashed in a door panel to get into the toilet, where he discovered what he had done. Whilst I leant over the partition to get in, I saw the key, so I took it and I unlocked the door, and I flung the door open, and I threw it open,” he said, sobbing. And I sat over Reeva and I cried… and um, I don’t know how long… I don’t know how long I was there for… She wasn’t breathing.”
As the athlete broke down, the judge adjourned the trial.
Even if he is acquitted, South African law stipulates that the court must consider the separate, lesser charge of culpable homicide, or manslaughter. If convicted on this charge, he could face between six and 15 years in prison. Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, which he denies.
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