BOOK PREVIEW
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy"
- F Scott Fitzgerald
Published by the Sunday Times, South Africa.
Buy now at CNA: http://www.cna.co.za
Original Title
Pieces of the Puzzle: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp - Part I: The Killing
BOOK PREVIEW
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy"
- F Scott Fitzgerald
Published by the Sunday Times, South Africa.
Buy now at CNA: http://www.cna.co.za
BOOK PREVIEW
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy"
- F Scott Fitzgerald
Published by the Sunday Times, South Africa.
Buy now at CNA: http://www.cna.co.za
F. Scott Fitzgerald Published by Art Publishers (PTY) Ltd First Edition, First Printing 2013 ISBN: 1-920380-32-9 Copyright in the Works 2013: All rights reserved. Copyright in the Text Laurie A Claase 2013 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent of the publisher Contents 4 16 32 Fruit of a Poisoned Tree: 34 A Prince of the Physical World 66 From Superman to Gunman 90 112 Timeline of the Key Events 130 132 Unanswered Questions 134 Endnotes 136 4 @Beeld_Nuus Oscar Pistorius skiet sy vriendin in sy huis dood omdat hy glo dink sy is 'n inbreker. 8:03 AM - 14 Feb 13 Oscar Pistorius shoots his girlfriend dead because he thought news to shocked South Africans at 8:03am on Valentines Day 2013. It came from Beeld, the daily Afrikaans-language newspaper in Oscars home town of Pretoria. Shock rippled through cyberspace and the airwaves, the networks and the newspapers. But it was social gossip channel Twitter that remained a prime mover of the story as events unfolded. Beeld reporters Fanie van Rooyen and Hilda Fourie had Beeld Apparently, the burglar story had come from the police a Captain Sarah Mcira who had informed the Beeld at Beeld by a story from crime reporter Fanie van Rooyen on the newspapers website, at 8:04am: Oscar Shoots Friend, Taken into Custody. He gave a few more details: Captain Mcira reportedly also told Beeld that Pistorius girlfriend had been Beeld shot in the arm and the head and had been declared dead on to the South African TV programme 'Carte Blanche' who accessed security camera footage. However, later that day, Associated Press (AP) quoted police spokeswoman Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale who said that police had been called at 1 Later international and local media reports claimed police and/or security guards were called to the house by neighbours who reported a call-out varies from 1am to 1:30am to two hours before shots were heard. By 4am, people on the scene included: security guards, neighbours, family members, lawyers, locksmiths, call a Police spokeswoman Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale 3 T Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes briefs the media outside Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria East, where Oscar Pistorius has his home, 14 February 2013 Chapter One conference later that morning outside Silver Woods Estate, the high-security residential complex where Pistorius lives. Police distanced themselves from the burglar story. Police spokeswoman Captain Denise Beukes told the assembled press that: the South African Police Service (SAPS) were just as surprised to hear on the radio that allegations had been made that the deceased had been perceived to be a burglar. We were very surprised and those allegations didnt come from us At this stage there are no signs of forced entry or persons on the premises who werent supposed to be there morning neighbours and people that heard things that happened earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place We have received some reports about screaming and 2 e received some reports about screaming and shouting. Police spokeswoman Cpt. Denise Beukes 6 gunshots and a womans screams. Almost ten minutes later there were @barrybateman Yep. @DignitySAfrica: @ michellep777 Have you also heard the rumours about a prominent rugby player alleged to be involved somehow? 10:42 PM - 15 Feb 13 Beukes mentioned previous incidents at Pistorius home: Allegations of a domestic nature. By the end of that bloody Valentines Day, Pistorius had been charged with murder and the State had made it clear it was going to oppose bail. Beeld Beeld shooting. On 13 February, in a piece entitled Dood Agter die shooting. On 13 February, in a piece entitled shooting. On 13 February, in a piece entitled Deur guards of Silver Woods Estate in the east of Pretoria, were called to Pistorius luxury house around two hours before the shots. Security guards were called again around 3:30am tabloid accompanied by screams. had obviously tracked claimed that a neighbours husband, who was a doctor, had resuscitate her. From what they heard it doesnt sound like an Almost ten minutes later there were three more shots. 3 Media-fuelled and Twitter-fed rumours percolated around the motive for the argument if argument thered been. A tweet on 13 February asked Have u heard rumours about a rugby player alleged to be involved somehow: We all have. to which Eyewitness News Pretoria correspondent Barry Bateman responded, Yep, and Nelson Mandelas personal assistant, Zelda Le Grange, replied half the world knows it ' Cape Town paper Die Burger repeated the rumours that an Die Burger SMS from Springbok rugby player Francois Hougaard to Steenkamp may have been the spark. However, on 4 March, Barry Bateman of Eyewitness News poured cold water on these claims. Cellphone data shows no record of rugby player Francois Hougaard calling or sending a text message to any of the phones. 4 More details emerged from Beelds newshounds on 16 February. In a report entitled Sy het Nog 7 Francois Hougaard is a Springbok rugby player. When not playing for his country, Hougaard plays club Blue Bulls, based in Pretoria. the same agent with Reeva Steenkamp and had reportedly dated Reeva before she started going out with Oscar. Francois Hougaard her head, which is why the bullet also went City Press Geleef , the paper claimed that the model was shot four times while she was in the bathroom. She was shot in the When the security guards arrived at the house, Pistorius was standing with Steenkamp in his arms. Pistorius gave Steenkamp mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Oscars car was idling and the keys were in the ignition, according to . 3 City Press took over the baton Oscar. Fleshing out the initial reports in Beeld, the national and Steenkamp was shot in the head, hip, arm and hand. Apparently, one cartridge was found in the bedroom. bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and locked herself in the toilet. She was doubled over because of the pain. He is why the bullet also went through her hand. In an interview broadcast by Britains Channel 3 on 3 June, Reevas mother June echoed the scenario painted by City Press. She must have been so afraid in that toilet. Someones bullet had hit her so she must have been in severe pain also. City Press revealed that police had found Reevas overnight 9mm pistol on Oscars side of the bed. City Press also claimed that a bloodied cricket bat was a key piece of evidence and that Steenkamps skull was crushed. According to the paper, down the stairs with Reevas body dangling from his arms. Chapter One 8 A lawyer friend and a neighbour of Oscars arrived around claimed KwaZulu-Natals Sunday Tribune on 17 February. In a sworn statement to the police, she said she had rushed over to Oscars house in response to his frantic phone call that there had been a shooting. She opened the door of his home at exactly 3.20am on Valentines morning and saw Pistorius carry Steenkamp down the stairs, her body drenched in blood. By the time an ambulance arrived at 03:42am, according to security camera footage obtained by actuality TV show 'Carte Blanche' Reeva Steenkamp was already dead, covered T Oscar Pistorius at his Silver Woods home in Pretoria East, 22 April 2009 9 very neat and tidy Hilton Botha in bloody towels at the foot of the stairs. An ambulance paramedic described what he saw to the Cape-based Weekend Argus newspaper in an article published Argus on 17 February 2013 under the headline, As soon as I walked in, I saw a womans body by the stairs and she was covered up the stairs that I could see She was lying on her back at the bottom of the stairs and we were told that she had been shot upstairs, and that Oscar had carried her down to the bottom. She had sustained a gunshot wound to her head and her right arm When we attached the ECG (electro- cardiogram) monitor there was no sign of life, her heart had already stopped beating. Apparently, Pistorius had told the medic that Reeva had stopped breathing three minutes before the ambulance arrived. More details of the scene emerged in overseas newspapers. Steroids Found at Blade Runners Mansion blazed on 18 February, the day before Pistorius bail hearing was due to begin. Quoting a source close to the investigation, the newspaper also alleged that investigators had found evidence of heavy drinking. A later article in the UKs Daily Star Star 7 However, in an interview with Vanity Fair Vanity Fair such claims. It was a big house and very neat and tidy 8 OFFERS VALID FROM 14TH FEBRUARY UNTIL 18TH FEBRUARY 2013 Chapter One 10 Magistrate Desmond Nair is a former prosecutor from Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal. He was a magistrate in the Specialised Commercial Crimes courts before becoming head of the Pretoria Magistrates Court. He has presided over a number of high- the Blue Bulls rugby player, who Ntshimane Mogale to death in August 2010. Roux claimed that the Metro cop wanted to rob him and thus he defended himself. with murder but was ultimately convicted in September 2011 of culpable homicide and drunk received a suspended sentence and agreed to pay Sergeant Mogales widow R730 000. Desmond Nair appearance in the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Friday and forensic investigations still ongoing, the State was basing its opposition to bail on the objective facts to hand: evidence collected on the scene, statements from security guards and neighbours and Reevas post-mortem results. When the bail had been remarkably accurate. bathroom door. On the second day of the bail hearing, the Botha described what he found at the athletes house in the early hours of Valentines Day. I arrived at the scene at about 04:13. I found the deceased lying at the bottom of the stairs. She was already declared dead by medics. She had on white shorts and a black vest. She was covered in towels. However, what Reeva had been wearing when she was Weekend Argus, who had arrived on the scene before Detective Botha, said that Steenkamp had been wearing a black sweat top and long pants, but no shoes. City Press claimed that Reeva had been wearing her nightie at the time. In his summation at the end of the bail hearing, the magistrate, Desmond Nair, mentioned a bullet hole through the white pants, showing that Steenkamp was dressed when she was shot. In the security camera footage that shows Reeva driving into Oscars estate at 6pm on the Wednesday 11 four shots; three killed the woman. She locked herself in the Gerrie Nel evening of 13 February, she is wearing a dark singlet. As you enter you see the staircase. At the bottom, on the right you have the main bedroom. If you enter the bedroom the room entrance is behind you, bathroom entrance to the about 6,8 metres. A passage with cupboards through it leads to the bathroom. You have to turn right to get into the bathroom. Standing in is 1,4 by 1,14 metres. against the shower door, are two wash basins in the extreme right-hand corner of the bathroom. Botha described what he found in Pistorius bathroom that morning. I saw part of T The floor plan of Oscar Pistorius' bedroom and bathroom Chapter One 12 was found in the toilet bowl that wasnt discovered by your Barry Roux the door. Four cartridges found. I saw one cartridge in the passageway, three in the bathroom. While this cartridge in the passageway was omitted by Botha in the documents submitted in his evidence in chief, Magistrate Nair included it in his summation of the police one 9mm cartridge in the doorway between the bedroom and the bathroom One projectile hit the wall in the top concede that a spent bullet cartridge was found in the toilet 13 a cartridge or a bullet that was found in the toilet bowl: And a cartridge and a projectile in gun parlance. Each component part of a round of ammunition is enclosed the empty cartridge is then automatically and instantly ejected from the chamber, and a fresh round takes its place. cartridges and four projectiles. If a spent cartridge, rather than Botha continued with his description of the bathroom, reportedly a Taurus 9mm parabellum for which Pistorius had a licence. He did not have a licence, however, for the 38-caliber pistol rounds police found in his safe. Despite threatening to add to Pistorius charge sheet, it emerged that police never took photographs of the ammunition they were too busy taking photographs of Oscars medals, some rounds away. In front of the shower, next to the gun, were two cellphones. An iPhone 4 and iPhone 3 were found on the carpet close to the shower door, next to the toilet, Botha told the court. the UKs Daily Mail on 20 February. Botha collected these two cellphones and two more Blackberrys, which were in months. through the door. Four cartridges found. I saw one cartridge in the passageway; three in the Hilton Botha Chapter One 14 needles and injections. In the bedroom, Pistorius had an Pistorius bail hearing, Oakley had suspended their contract So much for the scene of the crime. Also in the States arsenal were the autopsy results and two witness statements. wounds: the right side of the head, the right elbow (broken as had earlier media reports. Despite fervid reporting of a bloodied cricket bat at the scene, and a fractured skull, T Court Room C at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court where Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing was heard, 19-22 February 2013: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, Defence Attorney Barry Roux, Magistrate Desmond Nair, Defendant Oscar Pistorius, and Warrant Officer Hilton Botha 13 T Oscar Pistorius in the Pretoria Magistrates Court with his uncle Arnold, sister Aimee and brother Carl, 19 February 2013 no signs of an assault on Reevas body and no signs of her defending herself from assault. Two witnesses signed statements testifying to an argument and police were called out more than once because of the woman screaming and two sets of gunshots. But, as defence Ballistics were still dealing with projectiles, distances and angles. Hilton Botha admitted that Ballistics hasnt told me anything. Forensics hasnt told me. Im standing here without expert evidence. Yet, the one incontrovertible fact remained and Prosecutor many are still alive: Botha: One. in the house. How many Gerrie Nel Chapter One 16 According to the evidence led during Oscar Pistorius four- day bail hearing in February 2013, these, it would seem, are the undisputed facts: A seven-metre-long passageway between a bedroom and a bathroom
boyfriend through a locked toilet door
outside by a cricket bat A key is outside the toilet door Four cartridges found: one in the passageway, three in the bathroom A cartridge or a projectile in the toilet bowl
A gun holster on the same side of the bed as a womans slippers and overnight bag
signs of assault or defensive wounds Witness testimony of arguments, screaming and two So how to explain the objective facts: Heres the Prosecutions version. Murder by another name shooting, the charge against him is one count of murder they were gunning for premeditated murder a Schedule 6 plays a role in bail and sentencing. Oscar Pistorius will at least face culpable homicide. But the State says it is planned murder. Murder is the unlawful and intentional killing of another human being. To prove murder the State must show at least face culpable homicide. But the State says it is planned Gerrie Nel