Detectives reportedly recovered a
bloodied cricket bat from the Paralympian’s bedroom and have established that
Reeva Steenkamp’s skull had been 'crushed'. This evidence - alongside a smashed
bathroom door, a 9mm pistol and the peculiar pattern of wounds on Miss
Steenkamp’s body - have reportedly led detectives to believe their case against
the athlete is 'rock solid'.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was shot four
times in the early hours of Thursday morning at Oscar Pistorius’ luxury home in
a secure housing estate on the outskirts of Pretoria. Police have said there was no sign
of a forced entry at the modern property and that no one else was at home. They have also rubbished speculation
that Pistorius - who is known to have a kept a pistol by his bed and a machine
gun at his bedroom window - may have mistaken his girlfriend of four months for
an intruder.
South Africa’s prosecution service
have formally accused Pistorius of 'premeditated murder'. The Blade Runner, however, denies
murder. While no officials would yesterday
comment publicly on the case, a disturbing - though disputed - picture of what
may have happened in Pistorius’ home started to emerge. The sportsman’s neighbours have told
how, at around 1.30am, they heard shouting coming from the house. Then, at around 3.20am, four shots
rang out.
Yesterday it was revealed that the
first person Pistorius called was his father Henke, 59. When he
arrived, Henke Pistorius allegedly saw his son carrying his nightie-clad
girlfriend’s body down the stairs. The law student turned magazine model
had been shot in the head, hip, arm and hand.
Oscar Pistorius - and later
paramedics - struggled in vain to save Miss Steenkamp’s life. As they did,
police found the bloodied cricket bat in the athlete’s bedroom. The bedroom’s en-suite bathroom door
was riddled with holes; a pistol’s holster was found by Pistorius’ bed and a
gun cartridge was on the floor.
Pistorius, meanwhile, allegedly
called his friend, Justin Divaris, to tell him: 'There has been a terrible
accident, I shot Reeva.' Yesterday South Africa’s City Press
quoted an unnamed police source as saying: 'The suspicion is that the first
shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. '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 source allegedly told the paper
that they are still examining the cricket bat in order to determine whose blood
is on it.
They also want to establish whether
Pistorius had taken drugs or steroids which may have caused him to become
enraged.
While one scenario is that Pistorius
attacked Miss Steenkamp with the bat, it has also been claimed that the model
may also have used it to defend herself. A third possibility is that
Pistorius used it to break down the door behind which Miss Steenkamp was
hiding. However, those close to Pistorius
have suggested that he may have tried to break into his own bathroom in order
to 'save' his dying girlfriend. According to this theory, the
confused sportsman first shot Miss Steenkamp by accident, whereupon she fled to
the en-suite bathroom. He then shot at the door to try and
get to her.
Yesterday, Pistorius’ father, Henke
appeared to suggest it is this version that he believes.While he admitted that he had not talked to his
son in detail about what happened, he told the Sunday Telegraph that he had
'zero doubt' that the sportsman thought Miss Steenkamp was an intruder.'It’s
totally absurd to even suggest anything different', he told the paper. 'When
you are a sportsman, you act even more on instinct. It’s instinct - things
happen and that’s what you do.'
Culled from Dailymail.
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