The Olympic Hero Stands on Trial

Finally the public has heard Oscar Pistorius’ account of that night in his own words.  After surging to worldwide fame in the 2012 Summer Olympics, the South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius took the witness stand on trial to describe the night he “killed” his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp on April 8, 2014.

Seven months after the Olympics, he was arrested for Steenkamp’s killing, and charged with premeditated murder by South African prosecutors. Arguments in his trial began on March 3 of this year, and Pistorius first took the stand on Monday, April 7, before going into more detail the next day.  Oscar Pistorius told Judge Thokozile Masipa that he had problems sleeping and awoke during the “pre-dawn hours” of Valentine’s Day 2013, according to the Associated Press. He stated that he stepped onto a balcony of a bedroom he shared with Reeva in his well-appointed home in a gated community in Pretoria, South Africa, to get some fresh air. He returned to the dark bedroom and then heard a noise come from the bathroom.

Pistorius told the court that he felt vulnerable there in the dark, walking only on the stumps of his amputated legs. Fearing a home-invasion robbery, he said that he yelled for Reeva to call the police. Then, he heard a door slam and took that as final proof that his home was being invaded. So he fired four shots from a pistol through the locked bathroom door, thinking an intruder was inside.  After calling Reeva’s name more and searching for her in possible hiding spots, Pistorius realized the mistake he could have made. Oscar broke down the bathroom door to find her bloodied body.

The trial’s pivotal question still remains.  Is Pistorius himself the victim of a tragic misunderstanding, living with torment and guilt after accidentally shooting to death the beloved girlfriend he assumed in a panic was a malicious intruder?  Or is that all a lie, fabricated to conceal the truth that Pistorius murdered his girlfriend after a lover’s quarrel?