Reeva Steenkamp 'shot as she stood at the door arguing with Pistorius'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Independent.ie

AISLINN LAING, PRETORIA

REEVA Steenkamp was pleading to her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius from behind their locked bathroom door when he shot her dead, the prosecutor in the Paralympian's trial claimed yesterday.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said it was "the only reasonable explanation" for why Pistorius gunned down the model at his Pretoria home in the early hours of St Valentine's Day last year.

He said the 27-year-old athlete's claim that he killed Steenkamp thinking she was an intruder who had climbed through his bathroom window and locked themselves in the lavatory was "so far-fetched" as to be "improbable".

"She wasn't scared of an intruder," Nel told Pistorius, revealing the state's theory on motive for the first time.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/reeva-steenkamp-shot-as-she-stood-at-the-door-arguing-with-pistorius-30179357.html

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Oscar Pistorius is seen leaving the high court in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. Photo: AP

[chuckstevens]

1. Oscar is

as guilty as OJ Simpson. Only in this case, he will be convicted

[Scairp]

30. I've listen to about half of his testimony

And it is unmitigated bullshit. There is no way on earth he didn't know it was her behind that door and/or that she was or was not in the same bed with him. Even if he at first thought it could be an intruder, she would have been yelling at him "it's just me!!!" or yanked the door open to show him. I know I would have. The only plausible explanation that might hold water is that they had a spat before bedtime and she chose to sleep elsewhere in the house and made a trip to the toilet in the middle of the night. But he didn't say that's what happened, he said they were sleeping in the same bed that night. Love that prosecutor though. He has totally thrashed Pistorius. And his antics in court have left me with my eyes rolling. What a bad actor.

[BainsBane]

2. Do the forensics support that theory?

Everything I've read said she was on the toilet, not standing right behind the door.

[elleng]

3. the prosecutor said

[leftieNanner]

4. South Africa is a scary place...

we have friends from there. People break into houses all the time, which is why anyone with any money at all has serious bars on the windows and doors. So for him to claim that he thought it was an intruder in his bathroom is absurd. I'm sure with his money, his house is like Fort Knox. Pistorius is a complete creep, an abuser, and a murderer. Jail for life. (I don't believe in the death penalty.)

[LuckyLib]

7. True, but according to a DUer from SA, this occurs mostly in outlying and rural areas. Urban whites

with well-protected homes in gated communities are not likely to be victimized. If he was so worried, why not hire a security guard for his own house? I think he heard her talking or texting on her cell phone in the bathroom, got jealous, and lost it. Already a trigger happy gun nut with multiple experiences losing his temper in public places. And the hot-headed jealous type. Lethal combination .

[BillZBubb]

5. Hopefully justice will be served

Too bad the max penalty is 25 years.

[SoCalMusicLover]

16. For 1st Degree Manslaughter....

Life w/o possibility of parole is the max.

25 years is the max if she determines it was not premeditated, and she finds guilty on the other gun charges he's facing.

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. i hope for appropriate sentence for second degree murder

[marew]

6. He never quickly checked whether she was in the bed beside him before he went towards the bathroom?

And he never asked who was in the bathroom?

It is my understanding one never shoots without knowing what they're shooting at!

I agree with the prosecutor- I simply do not buy his story.

[lululu]

8. I hope they throw away the key in his case.

"It is my understanding one never shoots without knowing what they're shooting at!"

I live by myself. If I heard someone in my house after dark, I'd be terrified and likely to shoot them (if I had a gun, which I don't.)

On the other hand, I find it incredibly unbelievable that someone living with someone else would shoot without knowing where their partner was. The death rate for people getting midnight snacks would be high...

[24601]

9. It's one thing to say you disbelieve his story. Quite another to make up facts not in evidence. He

would cause a mistrial in the US.

I wonder what would happen if Oscar responded, "I can't really hear accurately when you, a supposed officer of the court, scream inches from my face. Perhaps if you backed-up three feet and spoke like an educated person, I could understand the rants."

Kangaroo courts shouldn't be condoned on DU, even for unpopular defendants. There are other places for that.

[marew]

11. Excuse me but...

This dude ALREADY admitted he did NOT check to see where his girlfriend was! I did not make that up! He admitted such to the prosecutor...

[24601]

14. Precisely, so with the actions not in dispute, why does the prosecutor have to scream at him rather

than conduct himself like a human?

If I were on the jury, I would inform the judge that unless the state cleans up its act, there will be no chance of a unanimous guilty verdict, period.

[u4ic]

17. No jury in SA

[24601]

18. Point taken, If I were the judge then, I would caution the persecutor, then if persists, acquit.

Even scum deserve a fair trial.

[erpowers]

20. Judge Did

She did not go as far as you suggested, but she did tell the prosecutor to be nicer to Pistorius. From what I saw she did not threaten to acquit, but she said something along the line of that prosecutor needed to conduct himself in a more professional manner.

[joshcryer]

22. She left when he was having a breakdown.

I am not one for tribunals (because the jury system is proven to be more accurate; and even it sends thousands of innocent people to jail). But I think the judge is trying her best.

You're right though that the prosecutor was out of line.

[u4ic]

27. It didn't go unnoticed

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Oscar_Pistorius/SAHRC-asked-to-probe-Oscars-cross-examination-20140411

[marew]

23. That is YOUR interpretation!

I would say the murderer here is the one, historically, who has not acted like a human. The murderer, if you have noticed, has a LONG history of denying responsibility for anything!
"If I were on the jury, I would inform the judge that unless the state cleans up its act, there will be no chance of a unanimous guilty verdict, period." Really? Reality check! They do not, I repeat NOT, have a jury system- NO JURY SYSTEM- so I must question that you know what you are talking about. This judge has a history of being tough. I suspect she knows what she is doing even if you don't and you insist on second guessing her!

[Scairp]

31. Right, they never scream over here

I take it you've never watched an actual murder trial held before? Prosecutors in this country yell at the defendants too. It isn't isolated to South African courtrooms I can promise you that.

[kwassa]

10. Why would anyone shoot through a door, if they didn't know who was there?

Firing a gun on someone is the ultimate in seriousness, and fearing an intruder WITHOUT SEEING THEM is hardly justification for shooting.

Pistorius is either psycho or lying.

[marew]

12. Exactly! n/t

[ripcord]

13. It isn't like he isn't a proven gun nut

He discharged a firearm in a restaurant, he is the blade gunner.

[marew]

24. Yes, it was accidental...

But he asked another fellow at the table to say he did it. Classy, huh?

[Ino]

15. How many people LOCK the bathroom door...

unless they are afraid of someone coming in after them? She locked him out, so he shot through the door to "get her."

[marew]

25. Exactly!

Of course, the only family members in my house who violate my privacy are my two very sweet rescue cats who insist on accompanying me and sit on the side of the tub till we're done. That I can deal with! LOL!

[LisaL]

19. To believe Pistorius, one would have to believe he was trying to defend himself and her (as he

claims he was concerned for her safety), yet he never checked on her after he heard that supposed intruder, even though they were sleeping in the same bed.
That doesn't sound very believable.

[Skittles]

26. his story is utterly ridiculous

but then, so was Zimmerman's

[cqo_000]

28. It is a part of probability that many improbable things will happen. Agathon (445 - 400 BC)

It is a part of probability that many improbable things will happen. Agathon (445 - 400 BC).


The lawyer claims the story was was "so far-fetched" as to be "improbable".

Well that doesn't mean the story is not true. Absurdly improbable things happen all the time. Like a father mistaking a 3 year old toddler for an intruder.

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-07/news/mn-1122_1_gun-father-borrowed

It would be wrong to find Pistorius guilty based on a lazy theory. The only thing that counts is evidence!

[sendero]

29. And virtually all of the evidence..

... says they had a fight and he shot her. End of story. And I for one am glad it is a judge hearing this case and not some collection of morons as you'd likely find on an American jury.