paralympics 2012

[5co77ie]

I know...

nor me. The jokes are still about his handicap and not the possibility of him having shot his girl-friend

which is also difficult to see the funny side of

[Guest]

Mine was a joke about Blade Runner - didn't realise it would offend.

[Guest]

The possibility? six pistol wounds suggests it's more than a possibility

[Spindles]

Clearly got the wrong end of the stick when his girlfriend suggested he take her out for valentines day.

[Kowalski]

• Oscar Pistorius has given his account of the night his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp died at his house in Pretoria. In a statement read out by his lawyer, the Paralympic and Olympic star said the two were in bed asleep on Wednesday night when he got up and went to the balcony to close a sliding door and get a fan. He heard a noise in the bathroom and assumed it was an intruder, he said. Feeling vulnerable without his prosthetic legs, he got his gun and shot through the door, he said. He then saw that Steenkamp was not in bed, he said. He broke the bathroom door down with a cricket bat, he said; Steenkamp was still alive but died in his arms. He denied that he had murdered her, saying nothing could be further from the truth.

• The prosecution gave a different version of events. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius got up from bed, put on his prosthetic legs, armed himself, walked seven metres to the toilet door and shot Steenkamp four times; three of the shots killed her. Even if he thought she was a burglar, it was still premeditated murder, Nel said. But he asked why a burglar would lock himself in the toilet.

[The Nal]

Not sure what to make of this story. Helluva tragedy if he has accidentally killed her but surely he would have noticed she wasn't in bed before firing shots into the bathroom door?

[TheGayTent]

If that is what he said in court it looks like he just fucked up his defence on day one....

If I woke up to find my wife not in bed and noises from the bathroom I would presume its my wife in the bathroom.

He is fucked.

[TheGayTent]

I am... I have been... I spent some time in Langa Township. I know exactly the problems they have.

You wake up and your wife isn't next to you and she was there when you went to sleep and you can hear a noise in the bathroom. No matter if you live in a war zone or Mayfair, you should be putting two and two together. Specially if you have a loaded gun in your hands.

[Kowalski]

I agree, he looks more likely to be guilty than innocent in terms of knowing it was his girlfriend, but in regards to getting to the balcony - surely he could have done it without his prosthetic legs? (used his arms or a wheelchair or some other aid) Otherwise, his defence have really cocked up.

[eFestivals]

We don't know the truth but the small nuggets of defence that are coming out aren't the best.

I've no particular view on this either way, and I don't much care. It's merely another pointless death from the barrel of a gun.

But while the defence sounds rather weak and unbelievable, I'd guess that 'believable' circumstances around accidental shootings are less common than the unbelievable ones - because if a set of circumstances are all very common, then it's probably not so likely that someone is going to use a gun in those circumstances.

[Ed209]

Its going to be a difficult defense to sell to the jury. If I woke up in the middle of the night and heard noises in the bathroom, the first thing I'd do is check if my missus was next to me or not.

[Guest]

If that is what he said in court it looks like he just fucked up his defence on day one....

If I woke up to find my wife not in bed and noises from the bathroom I would presume its my wife in the bathroom.

He is fucked.

[Ed209]

Its trail by judge in South Africa not jury.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

A few questions about this, they weren't married and they didn't live together did they?

[Ed209]

No.

Although she did get to his place at 6pm that evening with the intention of staying the night.

[fred quimby]

be very strange if was the en suite bathroom.

[Kowalski]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2013/feb/20/oscar-pistorius-bail-hearing-day-two-live-coverage

Prosecution seem to have their act together today.

Botha says that the toilet itself is to the left in the toilet room. He says the bullets were fired diagonally through the door.

But Steenkamp's injuries were on her right side. Botha says this indicates that she was standing "hiding" on the righthand side of the toilet room – and was not sitting on the toilet.

[G-Stud]

Defence saying her bladder was empty as well which would suggest she went to the toilet....

Looks like he might not have meant to do this

Wish I could go watch it. Would make a great film this

[strummer77]

Sorry to keep posting about this but what a mess!!! The prosecution is all over the place. Leading to...

"We're in terrible trouble" says junior prosecution official leaving court.

Edited February 20, 2013 by strummer77

[Kowalski]

Prosecution have fallen to pieces.

Still don't get how Oscar is supposed to have got past the bed and shot someone in the bathroom without checking it wasn't his girlfriend first!

[eFestivals]

Still don't get how Oscar is supposed to have got past the bed and shot someone in the bathroom without checking it wasn't his girlfriend first!

it could be something as simple as him being dozy because it was the middle of the night.

While that sounds unlikely, surely everyone knows of someone doing something slightly daft or whatever when they've woken up in the middle of the night.

[Kowalski]

it could be something as simple as him being dozy because it was the middle of the night.

While that sounds unlikely, surely everyone knows of someone doing something slightly daft or whatever when they've woken up in the middle of the night.

[eFestivals]

Something slightly daft doesn't usually mean unloading a firearm into the bathroom door. If he loved her so much, he should be checking it wasn't her before firing.

And if he was so wary of intruders, why leave the balcony door open!?

as I say, people do do daft stuff when they're dozy. It doesn't mean that's what happened here, but it still could have been.

The balcony door might have been open, as he lives in a 'gated community' where presumably you're at far less risk of intruders than would otherwise be the case ... but that still doesn't get to mean that they don't happen.

Given that SA is known to be badly crime-riven, he might have been shutting that door thinking it was dangerous to have left it open, which then led on to him thinking that a noise he heard in the bathroom was an intruder.

The reasonable possibilities are pretty much endless. It doesn't mean I think it was definitely an accident, just that the possibility is there.

[Ed209]

Does anyone know the law on dealing with intruders in SA? for example, are you allowed to shoot dead an intruder even if they post you no immediate threat? Surely, if not, he's pretty fucked anyway?

[The Nal]

Does anyone know the law on dealing with intruders in SA? for example, are you allowed to shoot dead an intruder even if they post you no immediate threat? Surely, if not, he's pretty fucked anyway?