Oscar Pistorius, once a blade-legged beacon of hope for all people enduring hardship, is now embroiled in a murder trial in South Africa. The double-amputee runner is accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and now photos of the alleged murder scene have leaked just days before he's set to appear in court.
For graphic photos of the murder scene click here.
The photos released by Sky News show a blood-spattered bathroom, with the toilet seat mostly covered in Steenkamp's blood. Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp while she was in that very bathroom, but the track star has insisted he fired through the bathroom door under the impression someone was burglarizing his home.
Because he was not wearing his track blades, and instead was wearing less mobile stumps, he feared for his safety and claims to have fired four times through the door, only to realize he had shot his girlfriend. The state argues that Pistorius is playing innocent, and is charging him with premeditated murder, stemming from an argument between him and Steenkamp.
According to reports, question must be answered about the validity of the leaked photos. CNN's Robyn Curnow said, "The door was removed quickly from the scene of the crime, but appears to have been reconstructed here, so it's unclear when the photos were taken and whether this is a reconstruction."
The leaked photos could delay Pistorius' trial, according to Curnow. "A legal expert has told me all indications are that the state's case against Pistorius is really quite thin at the moment," Curnow said. "It's possible that the publication of these photos will delay the trial still further."
Despite apparently little evidence contradicting Pistorius's version of events, a police spokesman told CNN, "Nothing will distract the detectives from the case. They will remain on course to make sure that they secure a murder conviction."
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