Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius looks down in court during his bail hearing in Pretoria. Detective Hilton Botha has revealed that police found testosterone and syringes in Pistorius's home on the morning Reeva Steenkamp was gunned down. Source: AP
- Witness says 'non-stop shouting' before shots
- Prosecution has no evidence to contradict Pistorius
- But say he must have known Reeva was not in bed
- Defence says substance found in home not steroids
- What really happened? | Pistorius's account
A POLICE detective, testifying at Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing, said that police have not found anything inconsistent with how the star athlete described his shooting of his girlfriend - a killing that Pistorius says was accidental but which prosecutors call murder.
The second day of the bail hearing in a case that has riveted South Africa and much of the world appeared at first to go against the double amputee, with prosecutor Gerrie Nel saying a witness can testify to hearing "non-stop talking, like shouting" between 2am and 3am before the predawn shooting on Valentine's Day.
The hearing has been adjourned for the day and will resume tomorrow.
It was also revealed that Pistorius was previously arrested for an alleged assault at his home.
"There was an incident at his house where he was arrested for assault I think," said police Detective Warrant Officer Botha. "I can't remember the exact date or time," adding Pistorius was not charged.
Pistorius said in an affidavit read in court on Tuesday that he and girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and budding reality TV star, had gone to bed and that when he awoke during the night he detected what he thought was an intruder in the bathroom. He testified that he grabbed his 9 mm pistol and fired into the bathroom door, only to discover later to his horror that Steenkamp was there, mortally wounded.
Under cross-examination, WO Botha acknowledged that the witness who allegedly overheard argument was 600 metres from Pistorius' house, where the shooting occurred.
Bail hearing reopens for 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murder his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
Later, prosecutor Gerrie Nel re-questioned WO Botha, and the detective said the distance was actually much closer.
Pistorius, the first Paralympian runner to compete at the Olympic Games, is charged with premeditated murder in the case.
The prosecution attempted to cement its argument that the couple had a shouting match, that Steenkamp fled and locked herself into the toilet and that Pistorius fired four shots through the door, hitting her with three bullets.
WO Botha added: "I believe that he knew that Reeva was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door.''
But asked if the police found anything inconsistent with the version of events presented by Pistorius, Botha responded that they had not.
Oscar Pistorius' attorney says the famed athlete and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp were "deeply in love" on the first days of his bail hearing. Deborah Gembara reports.
WO Botha, a 16-year police veteran, said the trajectory of the bullets showed the gun was fired pointed down and from a height. Pistorius' statement on Tuesday said that he was on his stumps and feeling vulnerable when he opened fired. Mr Nel has said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius took time to put on his prosthetic legs before the shooting.
Mr Nel projected a plan of the bedroom and bathroom for the courtroom and argued Pistorius had to walk past his bed to get to the bathroom and could not have done so without realising the Steenkamp was not in the bed.
"There's no other way of getting there," Mr Nel said.
WO Botha said the holster for the 9mm pistol was found under the side of the bed on which Steenkamp slept - also implying it would have been impossible for Pistorius to get the gun without realising that Steenkamp was not in the bed and could have been the person in the bathroom. Pistorius testified on Tuesday that the bedroom was pitch dark.
WO Botha said Steenkamp was shot in the head over her right ear and in her right elbow and hip, with both joints broken by the impacts.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux asked Botha if Steenkamp's body showed "any pattern of defensive wounds", and the detective said it did not.
Investigating officer Hilton Botha at the bail hearing of South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius. Picture: AFP
WO Botha said the shots were fired from 1.5 metres, and that police found three spent cartridges in the bathroom and one in the hallway connecting the bathroom to the bedroom.
Police also found two iPhones in the bathroom and two BlackBerrys in the bedroom, WO Botha said, adding that none had been used to phone for help. Pistorius had said that he called the manager of his guarded and gated housing complex and a private paramedic service.
Mr Roux said Pistorius did make calls, including to the guards of the housing estate. In one case, he said, a guard could hear Pistorius crying. "Was it part of his premeditated plan, not to switch off the phone and cry?" Mr Roux asked sarcastically.
WO Botha said Pistorius did not have a license for a .38-caliber weapon and consequently his possession of ammunition for such a weapon was illegal.
The detective said that all Pistorius would say after the shooting was "he thought it was a burglar".
In an additional revelation, police said they found two boxes of testosterone and needles in the Pistorius' bedroom.
But Mr Roux said the substance was a "herbal remedy", and not a steroid or a banned substance.
Botha said police made the discovery in the double-amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion's upscale Pretoria house but offered no further details or explanation. Mr Nel also had to correct WO Botha when he initially called the substance "steroids".
Pistorius' lawyer, Mr Roux, said on questioning the detective, who was described as a 16-year police veteran, that it was not a banned substance and that police were trying to give the discovery a "negative connotation".
"It is an herbal remedy," Mr Roux said. "It is not a steroid and it is not a banned substance."
It was not immediately clear what the substance was.
Mr Nel also said that police were not saying that Pistorius was using the substance, only that it was discovered along with the needles in his bedroom.
In other evidence, Botha told the court that Pistorius had threatened a man at a race-track "over a girl" and said he would "f--- him up."
The investigating officer said the man was so scared by Pistorius's alleged threats, he consulted a lawyer.
The officer warned the star, who says he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder, could be a flight risk.
"The accused could be a flight risk. It's a serious crime, a serious matter," he said.
If guilty, Pistorius could get 15 years to life, the officer said.
Botha laid bare the facts of the post-mortem carried out on Steenkamp's body. The model suffered five gunshot wounds to her head and neck.
Pistorius lowered his head and sobbed uncontrollably as the details of the post-mortem were read out.
The athlete, who is wearing the same black suit he wore at yesterday's hearing, arrived at court in a police car with a blue blanket covering his head.
Pistorius says the killing of Reeva Steenkamp was accidental and that he shot her by mistake in fear of an intruder in his house in South Africa.
Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder. The magistrate says his defence must offer "exceptional" reasons for him to be freed on bail.
