South African “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee and one of world athletics’ biggest names, was charged Thursday with shooting dead his girlfriend at his Pretoria home.
The police said it filed a murder case after a 30-year-old woman was found dead at the track star’s house after an incident in the upmarket Silverlakes gated complex. Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steen-kamp were the only people in the house during the shooting, police brigadier Denise Beukes told reporters, saying witnesses were interviewed about the early morning incident.
“We are talking about neighbours and people that heard things earlier in the evening when the shooting took place,” she said. Earlier, the police said a 9mm pistol was found at the scene.
“When a person has been accused of a crime like murder they look at things like testing under fingernails, taking a blood alcohol sample and all kinds of other tests,” she added.
A local radio station earlier reported Pistorius may have mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar.