Pistorius family satisfied with hearing
2013-02-21 07:26
Pretoria - Murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius's
family defended the athlete in a statement after his bail hearing on Wednesday.
"The Pistorius family is satisfied with the outcome of
today's [Wednesday's] proceedings with reference to Oscar Pistorius's bail
hearing," the athlete's PR company Stuart Higgins Communications said.
Pistorius was arrested on Thursday after his model and law
graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead at his home in Silver Woods country
estate, in Pretoria.
He was charged with murder on Friday.
Pistorius spent a seventh night in police cells as his bail
bid was rolled over to Thursday.
'A tragic accident'
"The investigating officer Hilton Botha confirmed
during cross examination that the known ballistic and forensic evidence found
on the scene where Reeva Steenkamp sadly lost her life was consistent with
Oscar's version of events that the incident was a tragic accident," said
the statement.
Pistorius said he thought there was an intruder in the house
then realised it was Steenkamp.
On Wednesday, Pistorius's defence lawyer advocate Barry Roux
attacked the police's initial investigation report on the shooting, which the
State alleges was pre-meditated murder.
Botha earlier said the State would show through witness
statements and phone records that there had been fighting before the shooting,
but the autopsy showed that Steenkamp had no defensive wounds.
The Pistorius family on Wednesday said that no banned
substance was found at the athlete's house.
"The IAAF will have records of every single drugs test
that was undertaken in and out of competitions. He has been tested on a number
of occasions during the last couple of years and he has never failed a drug
test to date," his uncle Arnold Pistorius said in the statement.
The family said he was not a flight risk because of
"Oscar's iconic status internationally".
Former girlfriend
Meanwhile, the family of Pistorius's former girlfriend, Cape
Town marketing student Samantha Taylor, 19, said in a separate statement her
family would not comment on the case.
"To date the Taylors have not made any comment to the
media in the Oscar Pistorius case, other than to express their sincere
condolences to the Steenkamp family in the devastating loss of their daughter,
Reeva," the statement read.
In November 2012, Taylor told the City Press newspaper that
she had been dating Pistorius for a year-and-a-half before they broke up.
Pistorius arrived at the SA Sports Awards in November with
Steenkamp, who was quoted as saying they were "just friends".
- See News24's Pistorius Special Report.
- SAPA
