When South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius shot and killed model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, it was initially portrayed as a tragic accident, perhaps the result of a romantic surprise gone awry, given her cryptic posting on Twitter earlier that day:
"What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay"
Claiming he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder, Pistorius fired shots through the bathroom door. In a country with one of the world's highest homicide rates, and one in eight South Africans owning a firearm, it is quite possible that he mistook her for a burglar, as this dad did with his teenaged daughter.
According to an article in the Huffington Post, media outlets in South Africa have been speculating about a bloodied cricket bat which has since been found at his home.
Of course police are not giving anything away, while the case is still before the court. Pistorius has been remanded to a Pretoria police station while prosecutors pursue murder charges against the 26-year-old Olympian.
Meanwhile, much ado has been made of the fact that Steenkamp was pretty. As if that somehow makes her death more tragic. Disgustingly, the UK Sun deemed it suitable to feature images of the model wearing scant little while her body still lay in the morgue.
Both his family and that of Steenkamp stand by his account of events. "We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the state's own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all," said Oscar's uncle, Arnold Pistorius.
If convicted of premeditated murder, Pistorius could face a life sentence. What is your feeling about this case? Will you be following developments?
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