Pistorius trial

[smalex]

Oh maybe, I do recall that from the pre-trial thing.

I still can't reconcile it with being true, though.

[la Fée Verte]

I don't know whether I believe him or not, but if it's true it's exactly (one of the reasons) why shooting merrily at perceived intruders is a bit of a dick move.

[Bastian]

When the news first broke I totally assumed it had been a horrendous accident which was plausible because of the culture of fear, and I believe that can and does happen. But I don't in this case.

[la Fée Verte]

Yeah when it was just the bare bones of the case I supposed I assumed something like it was dark, he didn't know she was coming, she surprised him... not shooting through a door.

[ParisGal]

I think I (most people) struggle with the exact situation in this case, though. He was seemingly not aware of his partner leaving the bed to go to the bathroom, but soon afterwards, was awake and so completely convinced that there was an intruder in the bathroom (a bathroom in which he more or less had the 'intruder' cornered) and he was under threat, that he grabbed a gun and shot through the bathroom door 4 times? But without checking that his partner was ok/in bed (something that would've taken seconds to do).

I think his version, to be fair, is that he got up, she was in bed, he went to the balcony to bring in a fan and close the curtains, and that she must have gone to the loo in that time.

This makes it a bit more weird for me. If he felt so unsafe and at risk of a home intrusion (which is totally plausible to me), why did he feel safe enough to sleep with balcony doors open, knowing that there were ladders outside. And then confident to shoot at someone through a closed door, having called to his gf but not heard a reply from her.
Point 16 in this gives his version of events:
http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/oscar-pistorius-i-did-not-intend-to-kill-reeva-i-thought-i-shot-intruder.htm

[Lily]

Then he must have had the lights on, to get to and from his bed - and seen that she wasn't in the bed? :?

[la Fée Verte]

I don't put any lights on if I get up in the night.

[H1ppychick]

No, I think I'm just in this really odd position where I find his version believable, and I'm just watching the case unfold. A bit of evidence either way would sway me. The bit I'm not getting is why his version is considered as unbelievable as unicorns. I've seen the "I thought it was a burglar" defence loads in crime stuff - do I read too much crime stuff? I'm starting to think so! - so to see it for the 9000th time is hardly worthy of note. But for this one case, it seems to be a totally unthinkable, ludicrous defence. I guess I'm just trying to figure out why.

I got accused of being a friend of the McCanns once :lol: People were posting (another forum) about "the bloodstained room!!1" and "they totally did it, I saw it in a dream" and I was pretty open-minded, but saying "There's no evidence they did it yet" or "The room wasn't bloodstained..." I wasn't necessarily fighting their corner, just pointing out the evidence wasn't there (yet) and that "they looked well dodgy" isn't necessarily adequate reason to lynch them.

It's just interesting how this case differs from other near-identical cases, and I guess it's his high profile. If Barry the Texan Gun Nut shot his wife thinking she was a burglar, it probably wouldn't even make the news.

Daire speaks my branes.

[Derek Nimmo]

I work with a lady who came over from SA a couple of years ago, so still has good contacts in the country, and she told me this morning that she has been told by someone with something of an inside track that it was no accident. So, concrete proof then :))

(Re the light - She also pointed out how this was in the middle of the South African summer, so it doesn't really get properly dark at night and he would have been able to see the room clearly when he came back inside from bringing the fan/whatever.)

[Savannah]

KnowiI'm on the fence edging towards believing it's genuinely a tragic accident. It wasn't the first time he'd thought there was an intruder in his home and wasn't the first time he'd reacted 0-100 like that.

I agree with this.

I'm not sure what his motive would be for killing her, and I'm don't feel that the DV issue is a strong enough motive for me.

He just seems so distraught at her death, and I can't believe that a cold-bloodied killer could be that good an actor.

[smalex]

In what ways does he seem distraught?

[Derek Nimmo]

Apparently the motive was related to a drunken party, leading to him not being able to perform, leading to a row leading to...(Allegedly. This is my SA mole source.)

[Derek Nimmo]

DP

[Tabitha]

And if he did it in temper, there's no reason he shouldn't be distraught once he'd calmed down. I don't think there's any suggestion he did it in cold blood.

[lazzikins!]

Keep going, Dez! A drunken party some other day?

If the ballistics and phone records don't show him shooting downwards/evidence of an argument, I could perhaps change my mind about his guilt. But not really, I don't think.

[Topcat]

L.e.ts p.u.t d.ots inand mix u.p lterrers in case of in ter net sea.rches getting us in Troub/e.

[Tabitha]

0/kay.

[AshleyX]

I don't believe him for a second. I'd love to, but I don't. None of it stands up, especially combined with all the witness statements about the screaming and arguing. I think he regretted it the absolute second he'd done it, but I'm sure he did it.

Mr A is South African so knows the intruder/fear culture and he is completely convinced he's guilty despite this - as are all his family members still living in SA.

[Topcat]

0/kay.

It +'s a s.ence of my.ster.y and interieeg, don't y.ou. think?

[Derek Nimmo]

Allegedly should cover it TC. I should imagine a search about this case would throw up a lot of results before it got to TMT!

That's all the detail she's given me, if she says anything else I will share. She does seem to be very sure of her source (and she's a level-headed, middle-aged lady so not an excitable type who'd be prone to falling for obvious scandal mongering - I remember when it happened last year, and she was pretty sure that it was an accident at the time, for all the reasons the other SA'ns have given above).