Oscar Pistorius is currently on trial for the alleged murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. It is a scandal that has rocked the nation of South Africa, where Pistorius was once hailed as a hero.
Pistorius was nicknamed “Blade Runner”, after the unique blade-like prosthetics he wore during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The plaudits and praise have devolved into accusations and infamy since his girlfriend’s alleged murder on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The case is seen by many as the South African equivalent of the O.J. Simpson trial. Like that famous case from the early 1990’s, Pistorius’s trial will likely be heavily televised throughout the country and around the world.
Prosecutors in the Pistorius case are claiming that the murder victim’s own clothing will serve as key pieces of evidence in the trial.
According to Pistorius’s version of events, he was under the impression that he was defending himself from an intruder that had broken in and was threatening his life. He believed his girlfriend to be asleep in bed and had no idea that it was her that he fatally wounded by firing shots through the bathroom door.
We believe in Oscar, uncle says: The family of paralympian Oscar Pistorius will support him throu… http://t.co/JMPDXJFRvp #Africa #RSA
— Biko Stephanos (@asmareeno) March 1, 2014
A SA judge has ruled that parts of the trial of Olympian runner Oscar #Pistorius can be televised http://t.co/cQOU5phA10 #ReevaSteenkamp
— Lars Pellinat (@Lars9596) March 1, 2014
This would have meant that her death was entirely accidental and a sad and unintentional killing brought on purely by mistaken identity.
The prosecution is countering this story by saying they have evidence, including his former girlfriend’s own clothing, that suggests an entirely different situation occurred. It is anticipated that the prosecution will use this evidence to argue that Pistorius intentionally opened fire on Steenkamp knowingly, murdering her in cold blood.
Medupe Simasiku, spokesman for the national prosecution service, said in an interview with Dateline NBC that the prosecution believes that Steenkamp “was probably running away” from Pistorius. In a failed attempt to save her life, they theorize that “she locked herself in the bathroom.”
According to their theory, it was not Pistorius hiding in the bathroom and fearing for his life but his victim.
Simasiku said he could not state the whole of the prosecution’s case against Pistorius..
“There is a piece of evidence around the clothes that could suggest what happened there,” he said. “To disclose it now would be to disclose a lot of our thinking around the case before the time.”
Image via YouTube