South African track athlete Oscar Pistorius was set free on bail Friday (Feb. 22) by Magistrate Desmond Nair. The bail was set at $113,000 and Nair said he does not believe Pistorius is a flight risk.
The ruling was made at the end of the four-day long bail hearing for the 2012 London Olympics "Blade Runner". Pistorius is accused of shooting his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.
The facts argued by the defense and prosecution are conflicting. Pistorius claims that it was an accident.The prosecution says its premeditated murder.
Earlier this week lead investigator, Hilton Botha said boxes of testosterone steroids and syringe needles were found at Pistorius' home.The defense said that it was not testosterone, but an herbal supplement called "testis compositum". Although it's an "herbal", testis compositum is a testosterone booster and is often used to treat andropause or male hormone (testosterone) imbalance.
Testosterone boosters, even in herbal form, can have the same side effects as using hormones and steroids, such as aggression, irritability and depression. "Testosterone boosters include tribulus terrestris, fenugreek extract, longjack, avena sativa, safed musli and coleus forskohlii as well as various combinations of these herbs. The increase in total endogenous (body made) testosterone can elicit some of the same side effects as using prohormones and steroids, though generally milder," reports Livestrong.
This could support what some people believe, that the couple may have had a fight and Pistorius went into "roid-rage" mode and purposely shot and murdered his girlfriend in a fit anger. Reports from neighbors said that there was yelling coming from Pistorius' home before the shots were fired.
According to Pistorius, he was closing the balcony door, without his prosthetic legs and heard a noise so he grabbed a gun from under his bed. He would have noticed that Steenkamp was not in the bed since the gun was keep near the same bed that the couple shared.
It's still unclear if Pistorius put his prosthetic legs on, earlier reports said he had them on and the defense is not stating that he didn't. This is an important factor in the case as the prosecution argues that if Pistorius took the time to put his prosthetic legs on that means that he deliberately thought out the killing. Investigators found two BlackBerry and two iPhone phones at Pistorius' home, in both the bathroom and the bedroom. Police said no calls to the police or ambulance were made on any of the four phones. Pistorius' lawyers said that a fifth phone was used to call the housing estate manager and a private paramedic service.
In a bizarre twist, Botha was kicked off the investigation when the bail hearing ended on Friday. Apparently, detective Botha, who served on the force for 22 years, is facing murder charges himself from a 2011 shooting. Botha and fellow police officers allegedly shot at passengers in a minibus as they tried to stop the vehicle. Insufficient evidence resulted in the charges being withdrawn and it's not clear why the charges were now reinstated. Pistorius is due back in cout on June 4.
