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| Prosecutors Resist Bail for Track Star | Prosecutors Resist Bail for Track Star |
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| PRETORIA, South Africa — Prosecutors began on Wednesday to lay out in detail their case against Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee global track star accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend — a crime he denies. | PRETORIA, South Africa — Prosecutors began on Wednesday to lay out in detail their case against Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee global track star accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend — a crime he denies. |
| Mr. Pistorius, 26, arrived early at a courthouse here in a police car, his head covered by a blue blanket, to press his case to be released on bail pending trial in the death of Reeva Steenkamp, 29, a model and law graduate found dead with gunshot wounds at his home in a gated community in Pretoria last Thursday. | |
| Prosecutors, who say bail should be denied, opened their case on Wednesday by saying they had a statement from a witness who said she heard “nonstop talking like fighting” from 2 to 3 a.m. on the morning of the shooting. The prosecutors are seeking to depict the killing as following an argument. | Prosecutors, who say bail should be denied, opened their case on Wednesday by saying they had a statement from a witness who said she heard “nonstop talking like fighting” from 2 to 3 a.m. on the morning of the shooting. The prosecutors are seeking to depict the killing as following an argument. |
| As a police investigator described Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds, Mr. Pistorius broke down in tears. | As a police investigator described Ms. Steenkamp’s wounds, Mr. Pistorius broke down in tears. |
| The police also said two smartphones were discovered but neither had been used to make a call that morning. Mr. Pistorius’s lawyer and brother were accused of removing documents relating to offshore bank accounts from a safe in the house. | |
| Mr. Pistorius’s appearance in court on Wednesday was his third since the shooting. Before he appeared, the scene at the courtroom was described by witnesses as bedlam with journalists battling for space to follow the proceedings. | |
| Mr. Pistorius told the court on Tuesday that on the day of the shooting he heard a strange noise coming from inside his bathroom, climbed out of bed, grabbed his 9-millimeter pistol, hobbled on his stumps to the door and fired four shots. | Mr. Pistorius told the court on Tuesday that on the day of the shooting he heard a strange noise coming from inside his bathroom, climbed out of bed, grabbed his 9-millimeter pistol, hobbled on his stumps to the door and fired four shots. |
| “I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated,” Mr. Pistorius said in an affidavit read by his defense lawyer, Barry Roux. “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.” | “I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated,” Mr. Pistorius said in an affidavit read by his defense lawyer, Barry Roux. “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.” |
| Prosecutors painted a far different picture, one of a calculated killer, a world-renowned athlete who had the presence of mind and calm to strap on his prosthetic legs, walk 20 feet to the bathroom door and open fire as Ms. Steenkamp cowered inside, behind a locked door. | Prosecutors painted a far different picture, one of a calculated killer, a world-renowned athlete who had the presence of mind and calm to strap on his prosthetic legs, walk 20 feet to the bathroom door and open fire as Ms. Steenkamp cowered inside, behind a locked door. |
| “The applicant shot and killed an unarmed, innocent woman,” Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor, said in court on Tuesday. That, Mr. Nel argued, amounted to premeditated murder, a charge that could send Mr. Pistorius to prison for life and, according to the magistrate hearing the case, make it much more difficult for the athlete to be released on bail. | “The applicant shot and killed an unarmed, innocent woman,” Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor, said in court on Tuesday. That, Mr. Nel argued, amounted to premeditated murder, a charge that could send Mr. Pistorius to prison for life and, according to the magistrate hearing the case, make it much more difficult for the athlete to be released on bail. |
Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. | Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. |