South African Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, Charged with Murder
14 Feb, 2013
The South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who died of gunshot wounds at his home on Thursday morning.
Officials in Pretoria said Pistorius, 26, was due to appear at a correctional services police court at 2pm local time but the case was later delayed until Friday.
A police spokeswoman, Denise Beukes, said earlier reports that the suspect had been surprised by his girlfriend and had thought she was an intruder had not come from police.
“The South Africa police service were just as surprised this morning to hear on the radio that allegations had been made that the deceased had been perceived to be a burglar. We were very surprised and those allegations did not come from us.”
Beukes said witnesses and neighbours claim to have heard unusual sounds on Wednesday evening and when the shooting took place. There had “previously been allegations of a domestic nature at Mr Pistorius’s home”, she said, adding that Pistorius was being “treated like any other normal person”.
“He will be bringing a bail application and we will be opposing bail.” There were no other suspects in the case.
Earlier, police said they had launched a murder investigation after a 30-year-old woman was found dead in the upmarket Silver Lakes gated community, where the Paralympic and Olympic runner lives. It is believed she was shot four times.
There was speculation in the local media that Pistorius may have mistaken his girlfriend for a burglar and the shooting could have been the result of a Valentine’s Day surprise gone wrong.
Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale, a police spokeswoman, said: “Currently there are wild stories going around in the media,” she said. “We are collecting evidence and will be guided by that evidence.”
Pistorius’s father said his son was sad after the shooting. “I don’t know nothing,” Henke Pistorius told SABC radio news. “It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate. I don’t know the facts. If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He’s sad at the moment.”
Steenkamp, a well-known South African model, had been dating Pistorius since November and was due to appear in a reality TV show called Tropika Island of Treasure. The law graduate from Port Elizabeth gave an interview to the Sunday Times in South Africa last week in which she described her boyfriend as “an impeccable man who always has her best interests at heart”.
She had featured in the South African edition of FHM magazine. Hagen Engler, its former editor, said he had known her since around the age of 15 in Port Elizabeth, where they grew up. “She was the face of Avon or something like that,” he said. “She was an amazing girl, a really intelligent person.
“She was a businesswoman as well and I think she had a law degree. She went into the modelling industry and had a mature understanding of it. She had a good sense of humour, like a guy’s sense of humour. She was determined to succeed in the world of modelling and she really worked at it.”
South Africa’s Sports Confederation and Olympic committee (Sascoc) said in a statement it had been inundated with requests for comment but were not in a position to give out any details of the shooting.
The Guardian
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South African Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, Charged with Murder
14 Feb, 2013
The South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who died of gunshot wounds at his home on Thursday morning.
Officials in Pretoria said Pistorius, 26, was due to appear at a correctional services police court at 2pm local time but the case was later delayed until Friday.
A police spokeswoman, Denise Beukes, said earlier reports that the suspect had been surprised by his girlfriend and had thought she was an intruder had not come from police.
“The South Africa police service were just as surprised this morning to hear on the radio that allegations had been made that the deceased had been perceived to be a burglar. We were very surprised and those allegations did not come from us.”
Beukes said witnesses and neighbours claim to have heard unusual sounds on Wednesday evening and when the shooting took place. There had “previously been allegations of a domestic nature at Mr Pistorius’s home”, she said, adding that Pistorius was being “treated like any other normal person”.
“He will be bringing a bail application and we will be opposing bail.” There were no other suspects in the case.
Earlier, police said they had launched a murder investigation after a 30-year-old woman was found dead in the upmarket Silver Lakes gated community, where the Paralympic and Olympic runner lives. It is believed she was shot four times.
There was speculation in the local media that Pistorius may have mistaken his girlfriend for a burglar and the shooting could have been the result of a Valentine’s Day surprise gone wrong.
Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale, a police spokeswoman, said: “Currently there are wild stories going around in the media,” she said. “We are collecting evidence and will be guided by that evidence.”
Pistorius’s father said his son was sad after the shooting. “I don’t know nothing,” Henke Pistorius told SABC radio news. “It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate. I don’t know the facts. If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He’s sad at the moment.”
Steenkamp, a well-known South African model, had been dating Pistorius since November and was due to appear in a reality TV show called Tropika Island of Treasure. The law graduate from Port Elizabeth gave an interview to the Sunday Times in South Africa last week in which she described her boyfriend as “an impeccable man who always has her best interests at heart”.
She had featured in the South African edition of FHM magazine. Hagen Engler, its former editor, said he had known her since around the age of 15 in Port Elizabeth, where they grew up. “She was the face of Avon or something like that,” he said. “She was an amazing girl, a really intelligent person.
“She was a businesswoman as well and I think she had a law degree. She went into the modelling industry and had a mature understanding of it. She had a good sense of humour, like a guy’s sense of humour. She was determined to succeed in the world of modelling and she really worked at it.”
South Africa’s Sports Confederation and Olympic committee (Sascoc) said in a statement it had been inundated with requests for comment but were not in a position to give out any details of the shooting.
The Guardian
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