Oscar Pistorius: ''I Thought Reeva Steenkamp was a Burglar''

February 19, 2013

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Oscar Pistorius has claimed he mistook his girlfriend for a burglar on the night that he shot her at his home, in a day of riveting testimony that included proceedings being briefly halted when the athlete broke down and sobbed.

The court in Pretoria heard in a statement from Pistorius how he felt "a sense of terror rushing over me" as, moving around on his stumps in the dark, he grabbed a pistol that he kept under his bed and fired through the bathroom door.

Pistorius told of his horror at opening the toilet door to discover that he had shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He said she was still alive as he carried her downstairs to take her to the hospital, but then died in his arms.

"I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder, as I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," Pistorius insisted.

As his affidavit was read out in the crowded courtroom by defense advocate Barry Roux, 26-year-old Pistorius sat trembling in the dock, his eyes dark and heavy, his face like a mask, worn and wan. At one point the grief became so raw that he shook uncontrollably and the magistrate had to halt proceedings "out of human compassion".

But earlier the magistrate, Desmond Nair, decided that the charge against Pistorius would be categorized as "schedule 6", the most serious charge possible under South African law, dealing a blow to the athlete's hopes of securing bail.

Pressing for a charge of premeditated murder, the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel told the court: "The applicant shot an unarmed and innocent woman." Pistorius slumped forward, his head in hands.

Nel said Steenkamp had been shot three times while on the toilet. He dismissed Pistorius's claim that he thought she was a burglar as "all part of the pre-planning".

Even if the burglar theory had been true, he added, it "still constitutes premeditated murder" because Pistorius knowingly opened fire on a defenseless burglar.

Pistorius claimed that on 13 February, Steenkamp called him and suggested they spend the evening at his home, where they had a quiet dinner. By 10pm, the court heard, they were in the bedroom, she does yoga and he in bed watching television, his prosthetic legs off. She then got into bed and they both fell asleep.

"We were deeply in love and could not be happier. I know she felt the same way. She had given me a present for Valentine's Day but asked me only to open it the next day."

Pistorius said he was "acutely aware" of violent crimes committed by intruders. He had received death threats in the past and had been a victim of violence and burglary. For that reason he kept a 9mm Parabellum pistol underneath his bed when he went to sleep at night.

The athlete woke up in the early hours of 14 February, he added, and went onto the balcony to bring a fan in and close the sliding doors, blinds and curtains. "I heard a noise and realized that someone was in the bathroom. I felt a sense of terror rushing over me. There are no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew that contractors who worked at my house had left the ladders outside. Although I did not have my prosthetic legs on I have mobility on my stumps.

"I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on. I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed."

He went on: "I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realized that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.

"It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believe that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.

Pitch Dark

"I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

"When I reached the bed, I realized Reeva was not in the bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help."

Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open, he said. He went back to the bedroom to grab his cricket bat and smash open the toilet door. One or more panels broke off and he found the key so he was able to open it.

"Reeva was slumped over but alive. I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom."

Pistorius said he called an administrator of his estate and asked him to phone an ambulance and also called a private hospital. He carried Steenkamp, 29, downstairs so she could be taken to hospital. "Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms."

Pistorius reflected: "I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva. With the benefit of hindsight I believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out on the balcony to bring the fan in. I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved.

"I also know that the events of that tragic night were as I have described them and that in due course I have no doubt the police and expert investigators will bear this out."

The court also heard affidavits from friends of the couple. They spoke of how Pistorius and Steenkamp seemed very happy together, even if he was moving a little too fast for her in the relationship.

One said: "Oscar told me Reeva could be the girl he would one day marry."

Another recalled: "Reeva told me that she really liked Oscar and they both clicked and understood each other." Pistorius treated her "like gold", the friend added. "Reeva said if Oscar asked her to marry him, she would probably say yes." At that, Pistorius bowed his head and wept.

Premeditated Murder

Earlier, the prosecutor Nel accused the athlete of premeditated murder, alleging that he took the time to put on his legs and walk seven meters (23ft) from the bed to the bathroom door before opening fire.

Nel told the court that Pistorius fired into the door of a small, 1.4-meter x 1.14-meter toilet where Steenkamp was cowering after a shouting match. He fired four times. Three bullets hit Steenkamp, Nel said.

"She couldn't go anywhere," Nel argued. "You can run nowhere. It must have been horrific."

Nel added bluntly: "He got up from a bed, put on his prostheses, armed himself and walked seven meters." It was not, he argued, a case of "there was someone standing over my bed", something which might cause a spontaneous reaction.

"I walk seven meters, I see a bathroom door, I shoot … The motive is to kill …

"Did I want to scare someone by firing four shots into a small room?"

The "cold facts" added up to premeditated murder, he added.

Nel said the prosecution was giving details only relevant to the bail hearing and would present its full case later. "The broken door is important … She was there, she locked the door for a purpose, I'm not allowed to give you that purpose now."

Pistorius sobbed as his lawyer insisted the shooting was an accident and that there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge.

"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.

Nel rebutted: "The motive is 'I want to kill.'"

The pretrial hearing continues tomorrow.

[Edited 2/19/13 11:43am]

Genesia said:

iaminparties said:

I do even when Im alone.It's a natural instinct.

Seriously? When I'm alone, I don't even bother to close the door. And I don't turn on the light, either.

Same here.

His story is so ridiculous.

And this pic looks like a bad community theater group play. So weird.

This whole thing has me stumped.