Following is a partial text of Oscar Pistorius' affidavit handed out in a South African court on Tuesday as he sought bail after being accused of murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day.
16.2 I have been informed that I am accused of having committed the offence of murder. I deny the aforesaid allegation in the strongest terms.
16.3 I am advised that I do not have to deal with the merits of the case for purposes of the bail application. However, I believe that it is appropriate to deal with the merits in this application, particularly in view of the State’s contention that I planned to murder Reeva. Nothing can be further from the truth and I have no doubt that it is not possible for the State to present objective facts to substantiate such an allegation, as there is no substance in the allegation. I do not know on what different facts the allegation of a premeditated murder could be premised and I respectfully request the State to furnish me with such alleged facts in order to allow me to refute such allegations.
16.4 On the 13th of February 2013 Reeva would have gone out with her friends and I with my friends. Reeva then called me and asked that we rather spend the evening at home. I agreed and we were content to have a quiet dinner together at home. By about 22h00 on 13 February 2013 we were in our bedroom. She was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television. My prosthetic legs were off. We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way. She had given me a present for Valentine’s Day but asked me only to open it the next day.
16.5 After Reeva finished her yoga exercises she got into bed and we both fell asleep.
16.6 I am acutely aware of violent crime being committed by intruders entering homes with a view to commit crime, including violent crime. I have received death threats before. I have also been a victim of violence and of burglaries before. For that reason I kept my firearm, a 9 mm Parabellum, underneath my bed when I went to bed at night.
16.7 During the early morning hours of 14 February 2013, I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and closed the sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains. I heard a noise in the bathroom and realised that someone was in the bathroom.
16.8 I felt a sense of terror rushing over me. There are no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew that contractors who worked at my house had left the ladders outside. Although I did not have my prosthetic legs on I have mobility on my stumps.
16.9 I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on.
16.10 I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed.
16.11 I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.
16.12 It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.
16.13 I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.
16.14 When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.
16.15 I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open. I think I must then have turned on the lights. I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my cricket bat to bash open the toilet door. A panel or panels broke off and I found the key on the floor and unlocked and opened the door. Reeva was slumped over but alive.
16.16 I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom. I phoned Johan Stander (“Stander”) who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help. I went downstairs to open the front door.
16.17 I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to hospital. I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the hospital. On my way down Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the complex also arrived. Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms.
16.18 I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva. With the benefit of hindsight I believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out on the balcony to bring the fan in. I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved. I also know that the events of that tragic night were as I have described them and that in due course I have no doubt the police and expert investigators will bear this out.
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This scenario is very possible,...and we know many family and friends of gun owners are shot by accident....
Even if that were true (and the statistics on it are highly questionable) it isn't a defense.
Simpleton: well, it is a defense of premeditated murder, and also of first degree murder if the prosecution cannot prove that it was not an accident. However, I am applying my limited knowledge of US law to South American law, so I may indeed be way off base here.
Not buying it. If he hollered out that he was armed and for them to get out of the house, I expect she would have said something. She would have replied from the bed or the bathroom.
You are right, but shouldnt you always check if it is someone you know before shooting???
What happened is "shoot first ask question later"
And why hasn't anyone noticed how many times the word "stump" appears in the affadavit???
Crock of nonsense. Neighbors heard arguing and fighting. Police had been called out earlier in the night to their house for arguments. If you were a burglar and had been discovered by a man with no legs who is in bed would you go lock yourself in a room? Or head for the outside door? Police are holding out on the cricket bat with her blood on it and her cracked skull.
I kind of believe him. I mean, honestly, why would he shoot her while she was taking a pee, if not for sheer paranoia and fear.
Very tragic. I believe him. He let his fear and paranoia take over and now he and many others will live with the consequences.
Jco, she wasn't taking a pee. She locked herself in the bathroom out of fear when he started threatening her.
Roses are red,
Violets are glorious,
Don't ever surprise
Oscar Pistorius
Unfortunately that is the best "roses" poem I've ever heard. (In a macabre sort of way lol)
If only SHE had had a GUN!!!!! Oh well !!!!
If only he DIDN'T!
You might have a different opinion if you're life was being threatened in a situation where there was no chance of help coming from police or anyone else.... unless you believe that the power of prayer is the only solution ... in any event your comment was irrational.
he said he screamed get out of my house.Do you acually thank that she would have remained silent after he screamed if so you really are a simpleton
Maybe when he yelled for the intuder to leave the house she got scared too and remined silent thinking there was an intruder. Why lock the toilet door in your house?...she was scared.
You got us on that one. We either believe your opinion or we're simpletons. Sounds like an easy choice and a mature way to get consensus.
Except nobody HAD threatened him. Had his girlfriend never gotten up in the night to use the bathroom before? You are living up to your pseudonym anyway.
Did you skip section 16.6?
Home security in South Africa is a multi-billion Rand industry. The general rule of thumb is that if you can afford a good home security package that included armed mobile patrols and a response time of under five minutes, you get it. Pistorius can afford this, and having lived in an similarly affluent neighborhood in Pretoria, I find it hard to imagine a scenairo where he had no chance of help arriving, especially when it was just a panic button away.
How many are awaken at night by a strange noise? My first response is... Where is my partner? To not check the bed before getting up is just irrational, if protecting them is what ou had in mind. Something doesn't smell right.
Totally agree!
Exactly! My first assumption would be that the noise was being made by my girlfriend, not an intruder.
In addition, he actually got his gun from under his bed. Wouldn't he have at least looked then? That is a flaw in his story, to be sure. There are others, but that is one of the main ones.
The other is his story that the intruder was using the toilet after Oscar had already yelled at him. If you are an intruder, you do not use a toilet if the owner is yelling at you.
He assumed she was in bed because that was where she was before he went to the balcony (he said she got up after e went to the balcony) so he must have confirmed she was in bed when he got up.
Who locks themselves in a bathroom?
So without confirming where his girlfriend was in the house, he just shot blindly into a closed room?
Right...
It doesn't matter why he fired at an unknown target, the fact is that he fired at an unknown target and killed a human being. He claims he was shouting at the invisible person to leave as he shot? Why not just ask them to leave without shooting? Oh right, then you can't use the "I didn't know who it was" defense for killing your girlfriend.
Was his life really being threatened? Thats a stretch. Call the police and let them stay in the locked bathroom. You have your gun, shoot if they come out and charge you, otherwise conserve your ammo. Not that gullible.
And what would prevent them from shooting there way out? You think they are just gonna sit in there until police show up?
Weak. Play it out with your wife or girlfriend tonight.
You think someone is in your house. What do you say to your spouse? What do you do? When do you call 911.
Play it out several times in different ways. But really we need the layout of the house. A diagram of the bdrm, bath, balcony y window locations, etc.
I think he is not telling the truth because I have been in a position when someone has come into my house. We all do not act the same or do the same things, but most of us do.
This is even a poor base for a movie. Play it over in your head with your eyes closed. Think about it.
But, innocent until guilty. OJ got off, he probably will too!
Easy to say until you face that situation. NO ONE responds like they think they will, even the police who are trained for it panic sometimes.
His calling his "Estate Manager" before calling the Ambulance/Police?
I phoned Johan Stander (“Stander”) who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance.
Who, in their "right mind" in the middle of a life or death crisis suddenly stops and calls their "lawyer" before jumping back into their panic to save their so-called loved one?
Pardon me but this is a nicely crafted, post-shooting, let me come up with a logical answer to cover my a** story that will fall apart during the trial. Sorry Oscar...your story just doesn't make sense to a plain thinking person.
The "estate manager" is not the lawyer type, but the type who manages the estate on which he and the others live, I believe. I would guess he'd call for that kind of help so he could continue to try to assist Reeva, assuming his story is true.
It is very confusing. No one really knows but him what happened. It will be up to the magistrate to decide.
To shoot a gun blindly into a wall without at least confirming who is behind it is so reckless this guy should be locked up regardless of whether he meant to kill his girlfriend or not!
If he is cleard of the murder charge, he will still face a homicide charge. He is going to pay hard and long for this mistake, assuming his story is true, for the rest of his life – legally and otherwise.
Explain the bloodied bat... Ooh and he would surely wake her up if someone is in the house so she could run and hide... Some one who commits a murder has no problem with lying to you in your face. Bye Tink Tink
Scared little boys with guns. Why not just man up and admit you made a fatal error?
Was it an error?
That is exactly what he did. His whole affidavit is about the fact that he made a fatal error. He does not dispute this. He disputes that it is premeditated murder.