South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears on February 21, 2013 at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria. Pistorius battled to secure bail as he appeared on charges of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, Valentine's Day.
JOHANNESBURG - The prosecution in the Oscar Pistorius murder case say the Olympic and Paralympic athlete told security guards that the situation at his luxury home on Valentine’s Day last year was ‘fine’ after he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The evidence is contained in documents from the prosecution, which eNCA has in its possession.
The State says security guards at the Silver Woods Country Estate were given the assurance after they telephoned him after the shooting to ask if everything was okay at his home.
On Thursday eNCA revealed that prosecutors now believe that Pistorius was most likely on his stumps when he fired the shots.
A year ago, prosecutors claimed he had cold-bloodedly put on his prosthetic legs, walked into his bathroom, positioned himself against the basin and fired the bullets he knew would kill Steenkamp.
Now, the State’s own ballistics expert has backed Pistorius’s claims that he was on his stumps when he shot Steenkamp.
He also believes Pistorius fired from a distance greater than 60cm from the bathroom door – but closer than 1,5metres originally claimed by police.
The State’s evidence that Steenkamp was standing, facing the door when she was shot contradicts some media reports suggesting she was cowering.
She is believed to have been clothed - wearing a pair of Pistorius’s shorts and one of his t-shirts.
The State has also admitted it did not find testosterone in his home –again an about turn from the former investigating officer’s testimony.
The Prosecution however continues to insist it can prove that Pistorius preplanned Steenkamp’s killing.
Prosecutors also say they have testimony from a resident in the complex who says she heard a raised woman’s voice, before shots rang out.
The State says this resident lives 98 metres away from the athlete’s home.
Pistorius has claimed he and Steenkamp spent a loving night together.
The State’s own forensic findings that Pistorius was most likely on his stumps when he shot Steenkamp would appear to undermine its case that her killing was a premeditated murder.
The State says it can still prove this case though, with witness testimony from some of Pistorius&39; and Steenkamp’s closest friends.
At this stage, however, prosecutors admit they have no clear idea what the motive for the shooting may have been, or what the couple may have argued about in the moments before the shooting.
