Olympian Oscar Pistorius at his bail hearing in Pretoria. (AP Photo) Source: AP
OSCAR Pistorius has told a packed courtroom that he shot his girlfriend to death by mistake, thinking she was a robber. The prosecutor called it premeditated murder.
The double amputee said in an affidavit read by his lawyer at his bail hearing that he felt vulnerable because he did not have on his prosthetic legs when he pumped bullets into the locked bathroom door. Then, Pistorius said in the sworn statement, he realised that model Reeva Steenkamp was not in his bed.
"It filled me with horror and fear ," he said.
He put on his prosthetic legs, tried to kick down the door, then bashed it in with a cricket bat to find Steenkamp, 29, shot inside. He said he ran downstairs with her, but "She died in my arms."
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel charged the 26-year-old athlete and Olympian with premeditated murder, alleging he took the time to put on his legs and walk some seven metres from the bed to the bathroom door before opening fire. A conviction of premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in jail.
There were affadavits from friends of Pistorius and Steenkamp read out by defence lawyer Mr Roux in the bail hearing.
The statements described a charming, happy couple. The night before the killing, they said, Pistorius and Steenkamp had cancelled separate plans to spend the night before Valentine's Day together at his home.
The trial has been adjourned for the day and will resume tonight AEDT.
The Valentine's Day shooting death has shocked South Africans and many around the world who idolised Pistorius for overcoming adversity to become a sports champion, competing in the London Olympics last year in track besides being a Paralympian. Steenkamp was a model and law graduate who made her debut on a South African reality TV program that was broadcast on Saturday, two days after her death.
Steenkamp 'had nowhere to run'
Olympian Oscar Pistorius, with his head covered, leaves the Brooklyn Police Station in a police vehicle for his bail hearing.
The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law.
Mr Nel told the court that Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where Steenkamp was cowering after a shouting match. He fired four times and three bullets hit Steenkamp, the prosecutor said.
"She couldn't go anywhere. You can run nowhere," Mr Nel argued. "It must have been horrific."
Pistorius sobbed softly as his lawyer, Barry Roux, insisted the shooting was an accident and that there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge.
A relative of late model Reeva Steenkamp holds the funeral program upon arriving at the crematorium building in Port Elizabeth. Picture: Alexander Joe
"Was it to kill her, or was it to get her out?" he asked about the broken-down door. "We submit it is not even murder. There is no concession this is a murder."
He said the state had provided no evidence that the couple quarrelled nor offered a motive.
Mr Nel rebutted: "The motive is 'I want to kill.'"
Mourners say goodbye to Reeva
As details emerged at the dramatic court hearing in the capital, Steenkamp's body was cremated at a memorial service in the south-coast port city of Port Elizabeth. The family said members had arrived from around the world. Six pallbearers carried her coffin, draped with a white cloth and covered in white flowers, into the church for the private service.
South African Springbok rugby player Francois Hougaard, who was close friends with Reeva Steenkamp, attends the model's funeral.
South African rugby star Francois Hougaard, who has been at the centre of rumours and speculation over his friendship with Steenkamp attended the service.
The model's brother, Adam Steenkamp, said after the service: "Everyone is sad, understandably, but at certain points we were smiling whilst remembering Reeva, because we only have good memories of her.''
He added: "There's a space missing inside all the people that she knew, that cannot be filled again.
"We're going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better. We'll miss her.''
Henke Pistorius (right) and Aimee Pistorius attend the coirt appearance of their son and brother Oscar Pistorius. Picture: Stephanie De Sakutin
'This was premeditated murder'
During Pistorius's bail hearing, the prosecutor argued that premeditation does not have to include "months of planning".
Nel said even if the athlete's claim that he thought Steenkamp was a burglar was accepted, it still "constitutes premeditated murder".
Nel said: "He prepared. He armed himself. The motive was, he wanted to kill.
"We have the facts. There were two people in the home. (One) was shot dead.''
Four bullets were fired through the bathroom door - three hit Steenkamp, Nel said.
"There is no possible explanation to support his report that it was a burglar,'' he said.
The court heard Pistorius told his sister he had mistaken his girlfriend of three months for an intruder.
Pistorius breaks down in tears
During the hearing, a sobbing Pistorius was comforted by his brother Carl, who kneeled on the floor and rested his hand on the athlete's back.
The Olympian broke down and sobbed uncontrollably when his defence lawyer suggested he did not that it was Steenkamp who was behind the door.
"There's no reason to think the broken door suggests guilt," Roux told the court.
Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been formally charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp.
"Pistorius shot first, then broke it to discover his mistake," Roux said.
"All we know is that she locked the bathroom door and he shot, thinking she was a burglar," he told the court.
Nel said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius had planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder.
"It was all part of the preplanning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?'' Nel said.
Earlier, Pistorius entered the courtroom looking worn and sombre, The Guardian reported.
In arguing that Pistorius should be freed on bail, his lawyer said there were no other charges outstanding against the 26-year-old double-amputee who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics.
Legal experts say it could take months for the case to be tried.
Pistorius, in a grey suit and tie, nodded after the chief magistrate asked if he was well.
Longtime track coach Ampie Louw - the man who convinced Pistorius to take up athletics - is also at the hearing.
Around 100 people filled the court room, that has a capacity of about 60, where Pistorius's father sat in the front row and his sister just behind him. The windows of the courtroom were covered from outside so that photographs could not be taken.
Earlier there was chaos outside the court as journalists scrambled to get a place inside the courtroom.
South African police are believed to be checking SMS and text messages from the slain model's iPad and mobile phone to try to establish a motive for her death.
Steenkamp was believed to be in a “close friendship” with South African rugby star Francois Hougaard when she was killed. The pair had reportedly dated in the past.
Detectives are also investigating whether the famed "Blade Runner" sprint star was overcome with aggression, or "roid rage", a side effect of the banned drugs, The Sun reports.
Blood samples taken from Pistorius are now being tested for steroid traces.
A senior police officer told South Africa's Times newspaper banned steroids were found in a drawer in a bedroom.
with wires
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