Samantha Taylor, the former girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, took the stand during his murder trial this week to testify regarding his short, violent temper and attachment to guns.
Taylor dated Pistorius from 2011 to 2012 but broke up with him when she found out he was seeing model Reeva Steenkamp–the woman he shot and killed on Valentine’s Day last year–behind her back. Taylor told the court about several incidents involving Pistorius and his temper and claimed that although he carried a gun with him at all times, he wasn’t overly afraid of being attacked, as had been stated just after Steenkamp’s death.
Pistorius has claimed since last year that he woke up in the early hours of Valentine’s Day morning to sounds coming from the bathroom, which was adjacent to his bedroom. Fearing that an intruder had broken in–and unable to see in the dark that Steenkamp wasn’t in the bed–Pistorius says he grabbed his gun and fired four shots through the bathroom door. Neighbors have testified that there were loud screams coming from a woman that night before the gunshots, and then a man screaming for help.
Taylor spoke about an incident that occurred when they were dating where Pistorius was stopped by a police officer and touched the Olympian’s gun, which angered him. Later, Taylor said, he fired the gun through the sunroof of the car.
“It was a very, very loud noise,” Taylor said. “From my observation, he was angry after being stopped. Thereafter, after firing the shots, they laughed. They found it funny,” she said.
Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder and not guilty to two counts of recklessly firing a gun; once during the time Taylor described, and another for an incident that occurred in a crowded restaurant.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
