Steenkamp had a thing for thugs

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Reeva Steenkamp: Pistorius girlfriend was previously in 'abusive relationship' - Telegraph

 

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Was it murder or homicide - either way dey got Oscar dead to rights?...

Experts: Pistorius violated basic firearms rules
Feb 26,`13 -- Even if Oscar Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star athlete violated basic gun-handling regulations and exposed himself to a homicide charge by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it.

Particularly jarring for firearms instructors and legal experts is that Pistorius testified that he shot at a closed toilet door, fearing but not knowing for certain that a nighttime intruder was on the other side. Instead of an intruder, Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was in the toilet cubicle. Struck by three of four shots that Pistorius fired from a 9 mm pistol, she died within minutes. Prosecutors charged Pistorius with premeditated murder, saying the shooting followed an argument between the two. Pistorius said it was an accident. South Africa has stringent laws regulating the use of lethal force for self-protection. In order to get a permit to own a firearm, applicants must not only know those rules but must demonstrate proficiency with the weapon and knowledge of its safe handling, making it far tougher to legally own a gun in South Africa than many other countries where a mere background check suffices.

Pistorius took such a competency test for his 9 mm pistol and passed it, according to the South African Police Service's National Firearms Center. Pistorius' license for the 9 mm pistol was issued in September 2010. The Olympic athlete and Paralympic medalist should have known that firing blindly, instead of at a clearly identified target, violates basic gun-handling rules, firearms and legal experts said. "You can't shoot through a closed door," said Andre Pretorius, president of the Professional Firearm Trainers Council, a regulatory body for South African firearms instructors. "People who own guns and have been through the training, they know that shooting through a door is not going to go through South African law as an accident." "There is no situation in South Africa that allows a person to shoot at a threat that is not identified," Pretorius added. "Firing multiple shots, it makes it that much worse. ...It could have been a minor - a 15-year-old kid, a 12-year-old kid - breaking in to get food."

The Pistorius family, through Arnold Pistorius, uncle of the runner, has said it is confident that the evidence will prove that Steenkamp's death in the predawn hours of Feb. 14 was "a terrible and tragic accident." In an affidavit to the magistrate who last Friday freed him on bail, Pistorius said he believed an intruder or intruders had gotten into his US$560,000 ((EURO)430,000) two-story house, in a guarded and gated community with walls topped by electrified fencing east of the capital, Pretoria, and were inside the toilet cubicle in his bathroom. Believing he and Steenkamp "would be in grave danger" if they came out, "I fired shots at the toilet door" with the pistol that he slept with under his bed, he testified. Criminal law experts said that even if the prosecution fails to prove premeditated murder, firing several shots through a closed door could bring a conviction for the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide, a South African equivalent of manslaughter covering unintentional deaths through negligence.

Johannesburg attorney Martin Hood, who specializes in firearm law, said South African legislation allows gun owners to use lethal force only if they believe they are facing an immediate, serious and direct attack or threat of attack that could either be deadly or cause grievous injury. According to Pistorius' own sworn statement read in court, he "did not meet those criteria," said Hood, who is also the spokesman for the South African Gun Owners' Association. "If he fired through a closed door, there was no threat to him. It's as simple as that," he added. "He can't prove an attack on his life ... In my opinion, at the very least, he is guilty of culpable homicide."

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Testosterone booster and sexual performance aid found in Oscar's bedroom...

Pistorius representatives name substance found
Feb 27,`13 -- The substance found in Oscar Pistorius' bedroom after the shooting death of his girlfriend was identified by his representatives Wednesday as Testis compositum - an herbal remedy they said is used for "muscle recovery." A product by that name also is sold as a sexual enhancer.

Testis compositum is marketed by some online retailers in both oral and injectable forms as a testosterone booster and sexual performance aid that contains the testicles, heart and embryo of pigs, among other ingredients. Some online retailers also say it can be used to treat fatigue. At the Paralympian's bail hearing last week in the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, police said they found needles in Pistorius' bedroom along with the substance, which a detective initially named in court as testosterone. Prosecutors later withdrew that statement identifying the substance and said it had been sent for lab tests and couldn't be named until those tests were completed. Pistorius spokeswoman Lunice Johnston said in an email to The Associated Press that the athlete's lawyers had confirmed that the substance is Testis compositum.

In the email, Johnston wrote that the product was being used "in aid of muscle recovery." She did not say whether the substance was the same as the product that is sold as a sex enhancer. In court, Pistorius defense lawyer Barry Roux said the substance was not banned by sports authorities. The World Anti-Doping Agency said its science department had already been made aware of the substance and that it wasn't banned. "It would appear to be a homeopathic treatment, and these treatments are not prohibited by the list," WADA said in a statement to the AP.

Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission, told the AP he had not heard of the product but that it sounded like "a real cocktail, all pointing in the same direction, namely having something to do with testosterone." "This sounds to me like something that needs to be analyzed in order to make sure what it is," Ljungqvist said in a phone interview. "You cannot ban something simply on claims and names. It needs to be looked into. Even saying that it is testosterone boosting, it could contain some precursors. It needs to have some analysis."

Pieter Van Der Merwe, director of South Africa's Doping Control Laboratory in Bloemfontein, declined to comment on whether a sample from Pistorius had been sent to that laboratory for testing. Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting death of Steenkamp. He says he shot her by accident after mistaking her for an intruder in his home. Prosecutors allege he intended to kill her. Police took Pistorius for a medical examination when he was arrested on Feb. 14, which included blood-alcohol tests, they said. The substance found in his bedroom was also being tested by police, who haven't released results.

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See also:

Now, Pistorius case's Indian-origin magistrate's cousin involved in murder
Wednesday 27th February, 2013 - In another twist in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, it has been revealed that the Indian-origin magistrate in the case, Desmond Nair's cousin is suspected of killing herself and her two sons on Sunday, just days after shock revelations emerged about Bladerunner's brother Carl and the investigating officer Hilton Botha.

Nair, who is presiding over the Paralympian's murder case, revealed he is related to a woman suspected of killing her two children and herself last weekend, the Daily Mirror reports. 44-year old Anusha Mooljee's ex-husband recovered her dead body along with the dead bodies of sons Ashiel, 17, and Ashveer, 12, in Johannesburg by her ex-husband on Sunday. The woman is believed to have poisoned her children then herself, and magistrate said he could confirm the deceased is his first cousin.

Nair became the latest prominent figure linked to the case to find his own life in the media spotlight. Last week, investigating officer Hilton Botha was sensationally dropped from the case after it emerged he is facing seven counts of attempted murder, the paper reported. Botha is due to appear in court in May with two other police officers after allegedly firing shots while trying to stop a mini-van in an incident in October 2011.

The case took yet another twist on Sunday when it was revealed that the athlete's brother is also facing charges over the death of a woman. Carl Pistorius is charged with culpable homicide after a female motorcyclist died after colliding with his car in Vanderbijlpark, south of Johannesburg, in 2010, the paper reported. According to South African media, the trial was due to start last Thursday but has been delayed by a month. Gold medallist Oscar Pistorius faces trial in June charged with the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead at his home on Valentine's Day.

- See more at: Now, Pistorius case's Indian-origin magistrate's cousin involved in murder | Big News Network

 

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Poor Oscar...

Oscar Pistorius 'a broken man'
11 March 2013 - A close friend of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has told the BBC that the South African athlete, accused of killing his girlfriend, may be "on the verge of suicide" and is a "broken man".

Mike Azzie made the comments in a BBC Three documentary about the case in which Mr Pistorius denies murder. However, the family's spokesperson, Oscar's uncle, Arnold Pistorius, has denied the claims, saying: "Oscar, broken as he currently is, believes he has a purpose in life and is working towards that. Media reports to the contrary are untrue".

Mr Azzie, known by Mr Pistorius as "Uncle Mike", said the Olympic athlete "has no confidence in his tone of voice and he is almost like someone that is walking around in circles and doesn't know where he is going." Mr Azzie has also said that Reeva Steenkamp's death is a "tragedy".

Mr Pistorius, who is on trial for shooting model Reeva Steenkamp at his home last month, denies the charges of premeditated murder, saying he mistook her for an intruder.

Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? will be broadcast on Monday 11 March at 21:00 on BBC Three.

BBC News - Oscar Pistorius 'a broken man'