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Magistrate
Oscar Pistorius left jail Friday, free on bond eight days after the shooting death of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.Magistrate Desmond Nair said the state had problems with its investigation and had not offered enough proof to keep Pistorius jailed.
"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Nair said, eliciting a celebratory cry of "Yes!" from the courtroom.
"We are relieved," said Pistorius' uncle, Arnold, speaking on behalf of the family.
Pistorius, who wept throughout much of Friday's hearing, remained quiet and reserved after the announcement and did not appear to celebrate. His family hugged quietly.
"As a family, we know Oscar's version of what happened that tragic night. And we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court cases," his uncle said.
Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder in the February 14 shooting death of Steenkamp, 29.
Prosecutors say Pistorius, 26, killed her after a heated argument in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day.
The sprinter says he thought an intruder was hiding in a toilet room inside the bathroom of his Pretoria home. He says he fired in a fit of terror before realizing Steenkamp was inside.
"I'd like to ask Oscar why he didn't lean over and touch my cousin first...and say 'are you okay?' 'keep quiet,' 'I'm coming now,'" said Kim Martin, Steenkamp's cousin.
In full: Pistorius' affidavit to court
While recounting a litany of "improbabilities" in Pistorius' account, Nair said defense attorneys had done enough to prove the "exceptional circumstances" required by South African law for the release of a suspect charged with premeditated murder.
He said the former chief investigator in the case, Hilton Botha, had made "several errors and concessions" in his testimony at the bail hearing, and said prosecutors had failed to prove that Pistorius was a flight risk or had a propensity toward violence.
Botha was replaced after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against him in a 2011 incident unrelated to Pistorius.
Key arguments
During the four-day bail hearing, prosecutors argued that Pistorius had a history of violence and that his account didn't add up.
Prosecutors relied heavily on Botha's testimony, including statements from witnesses, who said they heard Pistorius and Steenkamp arguing before the shooting, as well as ballistic evidence that Botha said proved Pistorius was lying about how he had shot into the door.
But Botha seemed to buckle under questioning from defense attorney Barry Roux, who got the detective to acknowledge that the bullet evidence wasn't as conclusive as he had initially said and that at least one witness he had spoken to could not say for certain that the sounds he had heard came from Pistorius' house.
Nair also said that Botha had failed to exhaustively check cell phone records and chided the investigator for failing to check with Interpol before testifying that Pistorius owned a home in Italy -- raising his profile as a potential flight risk.
The source of the information about the house apparently was a magazine article, the judge noted.
Roux also said that defense investigators had found a bullet missed by police and that police may have contaminated the crime scene by failing to wear protective shoe covers. Police had run out of the covers, Botha testified.
Nair said he wasn't convinced by prosecution arguments that Pistorius had a violent nature and was a threat to the public. The prosecution cited an incident in which Pistorius reportedly fired a gun on accident inside a Johannesburg restaurant and another in which he allegedly made violent threats.
Finally, Nair said Botha had "blundered" in testifying that a substance recovered from Pistorius' home was testosterone. Some outsiders to the case have speculated that steroids or other substances could have played a role in the killing.
The defense lawyer told Nair the substance was a legal herbal remedy. Tests are ongoing, authorities said.
Too soon to judge
On the other hand, Nair said Pistorius' account is full of "improbabilities," from why he did not know Steenkamp had gotten out of bed to why he would have charged toward the bathroom door -- where he believed he had an intruder cornered -- if he was as scared for his life as he claimed.
Nair warned that it is too soon to judge the state's case, and he noted that a wide range of experts beyond Botha had worked on the initial phases of the investigation -- from ballistics experts to specialists in blood spatter.
"The pieces of the puzzle may not yet all be before me," he said.
"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Nair said, eliciting a celebratory cry of "Yes!" from the courtroom.
"We are relieved," said Pistorius' uncle, Arnold, speaking on behalf of the family.
Pistorius, who wept throughout much of Friday's hearing, remained quiet and reserved after the announcement and did not appear to celebrate. His family hugged quietly.
"As a family, we know Oscar's version of what happened that tragic night. And we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court cases," his uncle said.
Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder in the February 14 shooting death of Steenkamp, 29.
Prosecutors say Pistorius, 26, killed her after a heated argument in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day.
The sprinter says he thought an intruder was hiding in a toilet room inside the bathroom of his Pretoria home. He says he fired in a fit of terror before realizing Steenkamp was inside.
"I'd like to ask Oscar why he didn't lean over and touch my cousin first...and say 'are you okay?' 'keep quiet,' 'I'm coming now,'" said Kim Martin, Steenkamp's cousin.
In full: Pistorius' affidavit to court
While recounting a litany of "improbabilities" in Pistorius' account, Nair said defense attorneys had done enough to prove the "exceptional circumstances" required by South African law for the release of a suspect charged with premeditated murder.
He said the former chief investigator in the case, Hilton Botha, had made "several errors and concessions" in his testimony at the bail hearing, and said prosecutors had failed to prove that Pistorius was a flight risk or had a propensity toward violence.
Botha was replaced after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against him in a 2011 incident unrelated to Pistorius.
Key arguments
During the four-day bail hearing, prosecutors argued that Pistorius had a history of violence and that his account didn't add up.
Prosecutors relied heavily on Botha's testimony, including statements from witnesses, who said they heard Pistorius and Steenkamp arguing before the shooting, as well as ballistic evidence that Botha said proved Pistorius was lying about how he had shot into the door.
But Botha seemed to buckle under questioning from defense attorney Barry Roux, who got the detective to acknowledge that the bullet evidence wasn't as conclusive as he had initially said and that at least one witness he had spoken to could not say for certain that the sounds he had heard came from Pistorius' house.
Nair also said that Botha had failed to exhaustively check cell phone records and chided the investigator for failing to check with Interpol before testifying that Pistorius owned a home in Italy -- raising his profile as a potential flight risk.
The source of the information about the house apparently was a magazine article, the judge noted.
Roux also said that defense investigators had found a bullet missed by police and that police may have contaminated the crime scene by failing to wear protective shoe covers. Police had run out of the covers, Botha testified.
Nair said he wasn't convinced by prosecution arguments that Pistorius had a violent nature and was a threat to the public. The prosecution cited an incident in which Pistorius reportedly fired a gun on accident inside a Johannesburg restaurant and another in which he allegedly made violent threats.
Finally, Nair said Botha had "blundered" in testifying that a substance recovered from Pistorius' home was testosterone. Some outsiders to the case have speculated that steroids or other substances could have played a role in the killing.
The defense lawyer told Nair the substance was a legal herbal remedy. Tests are ongoing, authorities said.
Too soon to judge
On the other hand, Nair said Pistorius' account is full of "improbabilities," from why he did not know Steenkamp had gotten out of bed to why he would have charged toward the bathroom door -- where he believed he had an intruder cornered -- if he was as scared for his life as he claimed.
Nair warned that it is too soon to judge the state's case, and he noted that a wide range of experts beyond Botha had worked on the initial phases of the investigation -- from ballistics experts to specialists in blood spatter.
"The pieces of the puzzle may not yet all be before me," he said.
Oscar Pistorius's bail conditions
Upon payment of the 100,000 rand (£73,000) Pistorius must be released with the following conditions:
• He appears in court on 4 June at 8.30am.
• He surrenders all passports and refrains from applying for any passports.
• He refrains from entering any airport.
• He surrenders all firearms.
• He refrains from possessing any firearms.
• He refrains from talking to any witnesses for the prosecution.
• He will have a probation officer and correctional official from the date of release until the case is concluded.
• He shall inform the official of all his movements and ask for permission for any journeys outside Pretoria.
• He shall give them a phone number and must be contactable day and night.
• He must not be charged with an offence of violence against women.
• He must not use drugs or alcohol.
• He must not return to his home and must not make contact with any residents of his estate except the Stander family.
Upon payment of the 100,000 rand (£73,000) Pistorius must be released with the following conditions:
• He appears in court on 4 June at 8.30am.
• He surrenders all passports and refrains from applying for any passports.
• He refrains from entering any airport.
• He surrenders all firearms.
• He refrains from possessing any firearms.
• He refrains from talking to any witnesses for the prosecution.
• He will have a probation officer and correctional official from the date of release until the case is concluded.
• He shall inform the official of all his movements and ask for permission for any journeys outside Pretoria.
• He shall give them a phone number and must be contactable day and night.
• He must not be charged with an offence of violence against women.
• He must not use drugs or alcohol.
• He must not return to his home and must not make contact with any residents of his estate except the Stander family.
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