South African police are investigating if Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius may have shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in a fit of so-called “steroid rage” – an explosion of aggression caused by performance-boosting steroids.
Officers who searched Oscar Pistorius’ home in Pretoria after Reeva Steenkamp was killed are reported to have found steroids, according to The Sun.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was shot four times early on Thursday at Oscar Pistorius’ mansion in a secure housing estate on the outskirts of Pretoria.
This morning police refused to respond to the claim, but sources close to investigation had previously told a local paper that the steroid rage was one line of enquiry and that the star’s blood was being tested for drugs.
Police have rubbished speculation that Oscar Pistorius – who is known to have kept a pistol by his bed and a machine gun at his bedroom window – may have mistaken reeva Steenkamp of three months for an intruder.
As he awaits the result of his bail application tomorrow, it was reported this morning that Oscar Pistorius accidentally discharged a gun in a busy Johannesburg restaurant – and nearly hit his friend’s foot.
Oscar Pistorius visited a branch of the South African restaurant chain Tasha’s with group of friends which included girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in January this year.
According to boxer Kevin Lerena, who was also part of the dining party, Oscar Pistorius was given the gun by someone else in the group.
He was examining the weapon when it suddenly went off, Kevin Lerena claimed.
“I got a huge fright, because the bullet hit the ground just centimetres from my foot,” Kevin Lerena told South Africa’s Beeld newspaper.
He went on: “I must emphasize that the gun belonged to one of Pistorius’ friends – I’m not going to mention his name.
“Oscar just wanted to look at the gun, and it sort of snagged on his pants, releasing the safety catch.
“A shot went off. I wouldn’t call him negligent, it was just an accident. He apologised to me for days afterwards.”
The restaurant’s manager Jason Loupis has said that he heard a “loud bang” but that when he went to investigate, everyone on the table denied it was them.
“I went to investigate when I heard the shot, but they all denied it,” said Jason Loupis.
Jason Loupis said he did not inform the police as he could not be certain that a gun was fired.
Reeva Steenkamp will be buried tomorrow – the same day Oscar Pistorius appears before Pretoria chief magistrate Desmond Nair for the start of what is expected to be a two day long bail application.
Mike Steenkamp, who speaks for Reeva’s family, said: “For now, we are just focusing on getting over the funeral … on getting this part of the difficult journey behind us.
“We’re trying not to think about Oscar or the court appearance. We have deliberately not watched TV or listened to the radio. We just don’t want to think about it. We want to blank it all out and focus for now on the here and now.”
Reeva Steenkamp’s heartbroken mother has spoken of her pain for the first time and said that she wants “answers”.
“She had so much of herself to give and now all of it is gone,” June Steenkamp told a local newspaper.
“Just like that, she is gone … In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here.
“All we have is this horrendous death to deal with … to get to grips with. All we want are answers … answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this?”
Reeva Steenkamp’s flatmate Gina Myers, refused to comment on her friend’s relationship with Oscar Pistorius.
However, she echoed the call for “answers”, saying: “We want the truth to come out … everyone to be honest about what happened.”
South African police believe Oscar Pistorius may have beaten his girlfriend with a cricket bat before shooting her.
Yesterday it emerged that detectives are reported to have recovered a bloodied bat from Oscar Pistorius’ bedroom and to have established that model Reeva Steenkamp’s skull had been “crushed”.
This and other evidence – a smashed bathroom door, a 9mm pistol, the peculiar pattern of wounds on the body and reports of a row earlier in the evening – is said to have led them to believe the murder case against the athlete is “rock solid”.
Prosecutors have formally charged Oscar Pistorius with premeditated murder but the Blade Runner’s family says he firmly denies such a charge.
Oscar Pistorius is understood to have hired a heavyweight team of experts which include private detectives a pathologist who will conduct their own investigation into Reeva Steenkamp’s death.
Yesterday it emerged that Oscar Pistorius called his close friend Justin Divaris shortly after the killing – reportedly before the emergency services were alerted – and told him: “There has been a terrible accident, I shot Reeva.”
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