I thought I was firing at burglar in bathroom, Pistorius insists

The Paralympic gold medal list, known as Blade Runner for his prosthetic legs, told a bail hearing they were “deeply in love”.

But prosecutors accused him of premeditated murder, claiming he intentionally killed Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in his Pretoria home on Thursday morning by firing four bullets through a closed toilet door, hitting her three times.

The bail hearing came as Miss Steenkamp’s funeral was held in her home town of Port Elizabeth. It was attended by family and friends who had travelled from around the world. Six pallbearers carried her coffin, draped with a white cloth and covered in white flowers.

In court, Pistorius’s lawyer read out a statement which gave his client’s version of the events. The 26-year-old, who broke down on several occasions, said the pair were in bed together when he woke up and went onto a balcony to bring a fan inside.

On his return he said he heard a noise and thought an intruder had broken in through his bathroom window. Pistorius claimed he was too scared to switch a light on, so he grabbed his 9mm pistol – which he kept under his bed after receiving death threats – and walked towards the bathroom, which contains a toilet with a separate door screaming for the intruder(s) to get out of the house and for Reeva to phone the police.

“It was pitch dark and I thought Reeva was in bed,” he said. “I fired shots at the toilet door.

“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.”

Pistorius said he smashed his way into the toilet using a cricket bat, finding her “slumped over but alive”. He phoned for an ambulance and carried her downstairs, but she died in his arms.

He was “absolutely mortified” by what had happened, but insisted the evidence would prove his innocence.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the victim arrived at the house on Wednesday afternoon and went to the bathroom after an argument between the pair.

He said that at 3am Pistorius got up from his bed and repeatedly fired his gun through the closed toilet door. “She couldn’t go anywhere,” he said.

Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, said there were a number of cases where men shot members of their family through doors after mistaking them for burglars.

“We submit it is not even murder,” Mr Roux said. “There is no concession this is a murder.”

The hearing continues today.