Police 'ready' for Pistorius trial
2014-02-05 12:55
Johannesburg - Police are ready for the trial of murder-accused
paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius, Gauteng deputy commissioner Major General Tebello
Mosikili said on Wednesday.
"The case is going to court, [and] all necessary
evidence that we needed to take the docket to court has been collected so
far," she told reporters in Johannesburg.
"We have made good progress."
She said a task team, including herself, had been set up to
focus on the case until its end.
"We are ready to go to court," Mosikili said.
107 witnesses
Pistorius's trial is expected to be heard in the North
Gauteng High Court from 3 to 20 March.
His girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in his Pretoria
home on 14 February 2013. At his bail hearing last year Pistorius submitted
that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder.
A total of 107 witnesses are expected to testify for the
State. Among them are Pistorius's sister Aimee, his uncle Arnold, former police
investigator Hilton Botha, and residents of the Silver Woods Country Estate in
Pretoria, where he lived.
Medical experts, a weather forecaster, paramedics, ballistic
and forensic experts will also be called. Pistorius's former girlfriends,
Melissa Rom and Samantha Taylor, will also testify.
Settlement
Last month, it was reported that Pistorius's lawyers had
been negotiating a financial payment with representatives of Steenkamp's
parents for nearly six months.
Both sides have reportedly declined to comment on the
details, including the amount being considered, because of their sensitive
nature. Steenkamp had apparently been helping her parents financially.
A 24-hour TV channel dedicated to the upcoming murder trial
will reportedly be launched. "The Oscar Pistorius Trial: A Carte Blanche
Channel" is expected to launch on 2 March, the day before the star athlete
goes on trial.