- Pistorius sobs uncontrollably at hearing
- Mourners gather for Steenkamp's funeral
- Cops 'check Reeva's texts to rugby star'
A MAGISTRATE has ruled that Oscar Pistorius's case is a schedule six offence, meaning it is extremely unlikely the Olympian will be granted bail.
Magistrate Desmond Nair said he could not completely exclude the idea that Pistorius had planned the killing of model Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius sobbed and shook after the ruling, while his family members wept, hugged and formed a circle of prayer in the courtroom.
The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. He did not elaborate before a break was called in the session.
Pistorius sobbed softly as his lawyer insisted that Reeva Steenkamp's shooting was an accident.
Olympian Oscar Pistorius, with his head covered, leaves the Brooklyn Police Station in a police vehicle for his bail hearing.
In the dramatic hearing at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, disturbing details of the murder case against the Olympian emerged.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, walked seven metres and fired several shots through a locked bathroom door at Reeva Steenkamp.
Nel told the packed courtroom that Steenkamp had locked herself inside the bathroom of Pistorius's house and was shot while on the toilet. The bathroom door was broken down, the court heard.
South African Springbok rugby player Francois Hougaard, who was close friends with Reeva Steenkamp, attends the model's funeral.
Charged with premeditated murder, a tearful Pistorius slumped forward and held his head his hands as prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that "the applicant shot an unarmed and innocent woman".
"The applicant armed himself, attached his prosthesis, walked seven metres to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet," Nel said.
"He shot four times ... There's no possible explanation to support his report that he thought it was a burglar."
As the dramatic court hearing was adjourned for 20 minutes in the capital, the memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp was getting underway.
The model's body was driven to a church for a memorial service under grey skies in the south coast city of Port Elizabeth. Six pall bearers carried the coffin draped in white flowers. The family said relatives have gathered from around the world.
South African rugby star Francois Hougaard, who has been at the centre of rumours and speculation over his friendship with Steenkamp attended the service.
The model's brother, Adam Steenkamp, said after the service: "Everyone is sad, understandably, but at certain points we were smiling whilst remembering Reeva, because we only have good memories of her.''
He added: "There's a space missing inside all the people that she knew, that cannot be filled again.
"We're going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better. We'll miss her.''
During Pistorius's bail hearing, the prosecutor argued that premeditation does not have to include "months of planning".
Nel said even if the athlete's claim that he thought Steenkamp was a burglar was accepted, it still "constitutes premeditated murder".
Nel said: "He prepared. He armed himself. The motive was, he wanted to kill.
Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been formally charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp.
"We have the facts. There were two people in the home. (One) was shot dead.''
Four bullets were fired through the bathroom door - three hit Steenkamp, Nel said.
"There is no possible explanation to support his report that it was a burglar,'' he said.
The court heard Pistorius told his sister he had mistaken his girlfriend of three months for an intruder.
During the hearing, a sobbing Pistorius was comforted by his brother Carl, who kneeled on the floor and rested his hand on the athlete's back.
Pistorius's lawyer, Barry Roux, told the court Reeva Steenkamp's death was "not a murder".
The Olympian broke down and sobbed uncontrollably when his defence lawyer suggested he did not that it was Steenkamp who was behind the door.
"There's no reason to think the broken door suggests guilt," Roux told the court.
"Pistorius shot first, then broke it to discover his mistake," Roux said.
"All we know is that she locked the bathroom door and he shot, thinking she was a burglar," he told the court.
Nel said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius had planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder.
"It was all part of the preplanning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?'' Nel said.
Earlier, Pistorius entered the courtroom looking worn and sombre, The Guardian reported.
In arguing that Pistorius should be freed on bail, his lawyer said there were no other charges outstanding against the 26-year-old double-amputee who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics.
Legal experts say it could take months for the case to be tried.
Pistorius, in a grey suit and tie, nodded after the chief magistrate asked if he was well.
Longtime track coach Ampie Louw - the man who convinced Pistorius to take up athletics - is also at the hearing.
Around 100 people filled the court room, that has a capacity of about 60, where Pistorius's father sat in the front row and his sister just behind him. The windows of the courtroom were covered from outside so that photographs could not be taken.
Earlier there was chaos outside the court as journalists scrambled to get a place inside the courtroom.
South African police are believed to be checking SMS and text messages from the slain model's iPad and mobile phone to try to establish a motive for her death.
Steenkamp was believed to be in a “close friendship” with South African rugby star Francois Hougaard when she was killed. The pair had reportedly dated in the past.
Detectives are also investigating whether the famed "Blade Runner" sprint star was overcome with aggression, or "roid rage", a side effect of the banned drugs, The Sun reports.
Blood samples taken from Pistorius are now being tested for steroid traces.
A senior police officer told South Africa's Times newspaper banned steroids were found in a drawer in a bedroom.
with wires
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét