A hearing was held Tuesday, Feb. 19 for 26-year-old Oscar Pistorius in which he admitted that he accidently shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The judge ruled that the double amputee Olympic track runner will face premeditated murder charges.
Pistorius denied the charges and said he thought he was defending himself from burglars that early morning. Although Steenkamp was spending the night with him, he said the room was dark and he hadn't realized that she had gotten up out of bed. The shooting took place at his gated home in Pretoria, South Africa on the early morning of Valentine's Day. After the shooting, Pistoruis carried her body downstairs. "She died in my arms," said Pistorius. "We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way," Pistorius said in an affidavit.
The track star's defense lawyer stated that the shooting was accidental and Pistorius denied the court's ruling in the charge, "I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated, I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," said Pistorius. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel insists that the murder was planned and cites neighbor accounts and evidence from family and friends about messages received from Steenkamp that indicated that she was in fear.
Nel said Steenkamp got up out of bed around 3 a.m. and locked herself in the bathroom during a heated argument. Attaching his prosthetic legs, Pistorius walked over to the bathroom door where he fired four shots from a 9-mm handgun. "She couldn't go anywhere. You can run nowhere, it must have been horrific," said Nel. The prosecutor argued that the shooting was planned, intentional and therefore premeditated murder.
Steenkamp's funeral service was held in her hometown of Port Elizabeth Tuesday Feb. 19. June Steenkamp, the victim's mother, wants answers.
"Why? Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?" Steenkamp said.
Many reactions on Twitter appear to be all for a life sentence or worse.
@mogs_bigdeal7 tweeted, "Why waste anymore time on this case.. Pistorius should get the death penalty. Blatantly obvious it was a jealous rage."
Others are not buying Pistorius' side of the story.
@Tr16ia, tweeted, "Pistorius's version makes no sense. Unless the prosecutor is incompetent or corrupt, should be straightforward."
@BlaiseInKC tweeted, "Pistorius says he thought an intruder was in the bathroom. No door for his prison toilet should clear up that confusion in the future."
South Africa's legal system does not appoint a jury in court cases. A judge and two magistrates will determine what the outcome of the case means for Pistorius. If convicted, he would be sentenced to life in prison.
