This story is from The Sun, which pretty much means that it’s 95% crap. So why am I discussing it? Because I think The Sun has tapped into the completely dumbass way many producers go about casting their films. Let’s take the Oscar Pistorius situation – we have a heroic athlete with a physical disability. The man had a beautiful girlfriend who he may or may not have murdered in cold blood, and the entire situation is receiving tons of media. Therefore, I believe that there are probably several studios looking to turn this situation into a film. So how would Hollywood go about casting the roles of Oscar and Reeva Steenkamp? Eh. Wouldn’t they just pick the lowest hanging fruit out there? Like, “Go get the hottest actor out there and isn’t Charlize Theron blonde and South African? Yeah, get her.”

HOLLYWOOD heartthrob Ryan Gosling and South African beauty Charlize Theron are being lined up to star as murder-charge athelete Oscar Pistorius and his late model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in a forthcoming biopic, reports claim.

The Drive star recently announced he was taking a break from acting but it’s thought he could be tempted to play such a high-profile role.

The Daily Mail claim that a number of scripts are being developed in Hollywood which tell the tragic story of South Africa’s one-time Paralympian hero and the fateful Valentine’s Day morning in which his model girlfriend was shot and killed.

Oscar, who is currently on bail, denies murder and claims he mistook Reeva for an intruder.

Sources say two scripts are being currently being developed in Hollywood with an announcement expected soon from one of the major film studios.

A source said: “You’ve got one of the world’s most famous sportsmen under arrest and a beautiful young woman who meets a violent death. Scripts began doing the rounds within days of the scandal breaking. Ryan has the kind of quiet magnetism that would make this project work – plus there’s some mystery about him. Although Ryan has been saying publicly that he wants to take a break from acting to relax, executives will be falling over themselves to woo him once the scripts are finalised.”

Ryan said he wanted to quit acting because he didn’t want people to get fed up with him.

He said: “I’ve lost perspective on what I’m doing. I think it’s good for me to take a break and reassess why I’m doing it and how I’m doing it. I need a break from myself as much as I imagine the audience does.”

[From The Sun]

If they are really going to do a film about this… ugh, first I would hope that they would wait a few years, at least until Oscar goes on trial (or perhaps takes a plea deal, although who knows). Then, if they still want to make the movie, fine… Ryan is an okay choice. It will come down to A) whether he can do the accent (doubtful) and B) whether they can CGI his legs to make him look like Oscar, which I’m pretty sure they CAN do. As for Charlize… no. Think again. Reeva was 29 years old when she was murdered. Oscar is currently 26 years old. Charlize is 37 years old and Ryan Gosling is a boyish 32. I’m not saying Charlize is “old” – I’m just saying she’s too old to play this particular part.

Photos of Charlize in Boston this week, photos of Gosling last week in LA, all courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Oscar Pistorius is back in the news, and I don’t know how I feel about this stuff now we’re several weeks past the slew of information that came out during Oscar’s bail hearing. I still think that the exhaustive nature of the bail hearing didn’t do the prosecution any favors, and if anything, I’m probably throwing more shade at Oscar these days after he thought it would be a smart PR decision to hold a private memorial for Reeva Steenkamp at his uncle’s home. Today’s news is a mixed bag, and I’m still side-eyeing all of these revelations.

First of all, Oscar’s friend Mike Azzi has told a BBC documentary that he fears Oscar might commit suicide. Azzi told the BBC, “I’d go as far as to say he would be on the verge of suicide… He’s just like someone walking around in circles. He doesn’t know where he is going. I would say that, just by speaking to him, he is a broken man. I get the feeling that he’s really hurting and he’s an inkling of the man that he used to be.” Azzi says that he believes Reeva’s murder was an accident but “in life there are those moments of madness where people are just uncontrollable. I pray to God that’s not the case with him.” Azzi says that Oscar is “selling off all his property and everything because of the legal costs.” While I believe that this man is Oscar’s friend, I also wonder if Azzi is being put out there as some kind of PR move, a gesture telling the world that we should be sympathetic towards the poor athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend.

Another interesting anecdote from the same BBC documentary is that Oscar allegedly told the cops arresting him (just after he shot Reeva), “I’ll survive. I always win.” That makes my blood run cold. As does this: Oscar’s lawyers are going back to court to try to ease his bail restrictions. Oscar is restricted from drinking alcohol, from leaving South Africa and from returning to his home (the scene of the crime). Oscar’s lawyers want all of those restrictions lifted. Oscar wants to be able to travel internationally with the court’s permission, which… just seems like an awful idea, especially for someone considered “suicidal” by his friends.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I haven’t covered any Oscar Pistorius stuff in what feels like a while – I think I needed a breather after the magistrate let Oscar out on bail, and his team seemed to take that news as an opportunity to talk about how he was going to begin training again, I guess like nothing happened. Since being let out on bail, Oscar has been staying at his brother’s home because the police won’t let him enter his own home – it’s still an active crime scene. His brother, Carl Pistorius, is facing criminal charges as well, but they have nothing to do with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Carl Pistorius will soon be put on trial for culpable homicide from a 2008 accident in which a woman’s motocycle collided with Carl’s car. Don’t ask me to get into that criminal case – I don’t have the stomach for it.

Meanwhile, I think Oscar and his team are trying to do damage control. Oscar has hired some “image consultants” and they announced yesterday that Oscar planned a memorial service for Reeva:

Oscar Pistorius is planning a private memorial service to honor his girlfriend, whom he shot and killed on Valentine’s Day.

The memorial for 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp is scheduled to take place tonight at the home of Oscar’s uncle, where the Olympic sprinter has been staying since he was released on bail last week.

Oscar’s rep released a statement, saying, “Oscar specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva.”

The rep adds, “Since it is such a sensitive issue, Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own.”

Oscar — who stands accused of murdering Steenkamp — claims he shot her by accident, thinking she was an intruder.

[From TMZ]

The memorial took place last night, and the only attendees were Oscar’s family, no one from the Steenkamp family was included. In fact, several members of Reeva’s family publicly commented on how tasteless it was for Oscar to do this. So… does this make Oscar look good? Is this a strictly PR move, or does he genuinely feel remorse? I don’t know – I think it’s kind of tasteless.

Meanwhile, The New Yorker has a piece about how Oscar’s criminal case can and should end up with some kind of plea bargain. And The Mail (take with a grain of salt) claims Reeva was pregnant when Oscar killed her.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

The New York Times has an exhaustive story on everything that went down on the final day of Oscar Pistorius’s bail hearing, which began on Tuesday and only ended about a half an hour ago. I can’t say that I’m crazy about the South African legal system after seeing this brief glimpse from Oscar Pistorius’s bail hearing – it seems like the prosecution has been forced to rush their investigation and spend hours justifying their methods before the investigation is even complete, when that time should be spent at the crime scene or talking to witnesses, etc. Anyway, long story short – Oscar was granted bail. Here’s more:

After four days of combative hearings, a South African magistrate on Friday granted bail for Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, in a case that has horrified and fascinated the nation. Magistrate Desmond Nair announced the decision after hearing impassioned final arguments from the defense and the prosecution in Courtroom C of the Pretoria Magistrates Court in the presence of an emotional Mr. Pistorius, who has testified that he mistook his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, for an intruder and never intended to kill her.

Magistrate Nair said Mr. Pistorius did not represent a flight risk and was not likely to interfere with state witnesses.

”The accused has made a case to be released on bail,” the magistrate concluded. Pistorius family members in the packed courtroom shouted, “Yes!”

The magistrate set bail at 1 million rand, or about $112,000. Before announcing his ruling, the magistrate reprised the four days of conflicting arguments by defense and prosecution lawyers. Mr. Pistorius’s shoulders shook with emotion and tears fell from his eyes as, at one point, Magistrate Nair said, “The deceased died in his arms.”

Magistrate Nair said bail was not a matter of guilt and innocence but about determining whether justice would be served by holding a defendant in custody. But he took issue with the testimony and actions of the prosecution’s lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, who has since been removed from the case, saying the officer committed “several errors and concessions” and “blundered” in gathering evidence.

“It is his evidence that may have been tarnished by cross-examination, not the state case,” he said. At the same time, the state case was not so “strong and watertight” that Mr. Pistorius “must come to the conclusion that he has to flee.”

In a two-hour summary of the case and of the laws governing bail, the magistrate also read a series of character references from friends of the athlete, who described his relationship with Ms. Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law school graduate, as loving and happy. The prosecution had opposed the sprinter’s application to be released on bail until a full trial, arguing that he might flee. It said Mr. Pistorius, 26, murdered Ms. Steenkamp when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door at his home in a gated community in Pretoria on Feb. 14 while she was on the other side.

Magistrate Nair said that while the prosecution case rested on “nothing more than circumstantial evidence,” there were “improbabilities that need to be explored” in Mr. Pistorius’s account of events.

“The only person who knows what happened there is the accused,” he said. But “I cannot find that it has been established that the accused is a flight risk.”

But Magistrate Nair seemed skeptical on Friday about the risk of flight by Mr. Pistorius. “What kind of life would he lead, a person who has to use prostheses, if he has to flee” and found himself “ducking and diving every day” on artificial limbs, the magistrate asked. “His international career would be over in any event.”

[From The New York Times]

When arguing for no bail to be set, the prosecutor compared Pistorius to Julian Assange’s situation, where Assange is sitting in an Ecuadorian embassy in England – I guess the comparison is that Julian Assange “fled” because he didn’t want to go to prison/Gitmo, and Assange manages to be a high-profile fugitive too. The prosecutor also put Reeva’s murder in the context of the national and international cause of violence against women. To no avail. Also – yes, the lead detective (who is facing attempted murder charges of his own) did step down.

So, what does this mean? I think it means that Oscar got himself a star-struck, fan-boy magistrate who cares more about Oscar’s career than the victim. I also think it’s hard on the prosecution when you force them to spend hours and days laying out their case just a few days after their victim was murdered.

Photos courtesy of PR Photos and WENN.

I’m starting to disconnect a little bit from the Oscar Pistorius story. It’s not that I stopped caring, it’s just that in the first week of this terrible controversy/crime, there’s already been too much information, too many theories, too many rumors, and I just feel like I can’t keep up. But I did want to discuss this new development which is absolutely the most bizarre thing I’ve heard in a while. The lead detective investigating Reeve Steenkamp’s murder is under a cloud of suspicion because… wait for it… the detective is under investigation for seven counts of attempted murder as well. WTF?

In a bizarre development in the Oscar Pistorius investigation, it was revealed Thursday that the top police detective on the case is himself facing charges of attempted murder – connected to an incident 18 months ago in which he fired shots at a minivan.

In October 2011, Hilton Botha and two other officers tried to stop a van they believed was carrying a murder suspect by shooting at it, the New York Times reports. The van was carrying seven people. Botha was charged with attempted murder. The charges were later dropped, but were reinstated this week – which police called a complete coincidence.

“We were informed yesterday that the charges will be reinstated,” Police Brig. Neville Malila said. “At this stage, there are no plans to take him off the Pistorius case.”

A spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said the decision to reinstate the charges happened on Feb. 4 – 10 days before Pistorius shot his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp, to death.

“It’s completely unrelated to this trial,” the spokesman said.

Botha denies accusations that he was drunk during the shooting, and claims he was firing at the van’s wheels to avoid injuries. He is due in court in May.

Botha has testified this week in the Pistorius bail hearing. The double-amputee Olympian, 26, who faces murder charges, claims he mistook Steenkamp for a home intruder.

[From People]

USA Today’s version (which you can read here) says that Oscar’s lawyer is basically ripping the prosecution a new one because of Botha and certain discrepancies in the prosecution’s case thus far. Here’s what I don’t understand: why in the world wouldn’t this Botha guy be forced to step down from such a high-profile case? Even if he started out on the case because no one really knew what they were dealing with, at some point in the first 24 hours, shouldn’t Botha’s superior officer say, “Hey, we need this done by the book, someone under investigation for attempted murder shouldn’t be investigating the most high profile case of the year”?? I mean, I’m not saying that the South African police system is somehow more or less corrupt than some police departments in America. If anything, this story reminds me of some stories about police departments in Florida, California and New York. Ah, exporting democracy.

Also: Nike has suspended its endorsement deal with Pistorius. As for the reports of steroids and testosterone… we still don’t know. The lab work hasn’t been completed. And the phone records still aren’t in either.

Photos courtesy of PR Photos and WENN.

Although it might not seem like it, I’ve actually been trying to avoid the more tabloid-y aspects of the Oscar Pistorius murder investigation. South African police have been leaking to both national and international media, and considering we’re getting a decent preview of the case this week with Oscar’s multi-day bail hearing, I’ve just been waiting to see what the prosecution and defense have been claiming in open court. While I have succumbed to the tabloid elements at times – the bloody cricket bat! – I really have been taking a wait-and-see approach. This is my explanation for not discussing the steroid rumors before now – because before now, they were just rumors. But the prosecution is now claiming that they found needles and “testosterone” in Oscar’s home. And the prosecution also has witnesses who are shredding Oscar’s defense.

As a bail hearing continued Wednesday in the murder case of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, new details have emerged as prosecutors outline their charges that he is guilty of shooting his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.

Police testified that they discovered testosterone and needles inside the “Blade Runner” Olympian’s home, The New York Times reports.

But his defense lawyers said the Olympian took no banned performance-enhancing drugs, describing the substances found as herbal. The athletes, according to the International Paralympic Committee, tested drug-free as late as last September.

Pistorius, 26, has claimed the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

Prosecution lawyers, questioning a police witness, said shots fired through the bathroom door that night countered Pistorius’s claims that he was not wearing his prosthetic legs when he thought he heard an intruder inside his house and fired with a 9 mm handgun through the door.

Steenkamp, 30, was struck three times, in the head, arm and hip. She was buried on Tuesday amid an outpouring of national support and emotional family tributes.

A police detective testified Wednesday that Pistorius had accidentally fired a weapon at a restaurant in January and urged a friend to take responsibility for the shooting, The Times reports. The detective also testified that Pistorius threatened violence over a woman in another altercation.

Pistorius had claimed to investigators that his house was dark at the time he thought an intruder was inside but a witness who testified for the prosecution Wednesday said a light was switched on when the first shots were fired.

That witness said a gunshot rang out, then a woman’s screams were heard, the more shots continued. Pistorius’s lawyer, however, said that witness, a neighbor, lived 600 yards away.

The emotional Pistorius continued to proclaim his innocence. “I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated,” Pistorius told the court in an affidavit read by his defense counsel Barry Roux. “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.”

The prosecution, however, was resolute, that this was not an accident but a premeditated act of violence. If convicted, Pistorius would receive life in prison.

[From People]

So, here’s how the prosecution’s case stands now: Reeva arrived at Oscar’s house early in the evening (around 6 pm on the 13th) with an overnight bag. Witnesses and neighbors claim that they were fighting for hours, although the time frame seems a bit wonky (they could have been fighting early in the evening, and then much later, shortly before she was killed). Neighbors say the lights were on and that shouting immediately preceded the sound of shots being fired, and that Reeva screamed when the first shots were being fired. Oscar then (maybe) used the cricket bat to break down the door and he picked up Reeva’s body and brought it downstairs… maybe? I think the prosecution definitely needs to work on their timeline, but one thing is for sure (in my mind): Oscar’s version of events makes absolutely no sense.

Here’s more from Good Morning America – they have more details about the minutes leading up to the shots fired, and more details about the question as to whether Oscar was wearing his legs at the time of the shooting:

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Oscar Pistorius appeared in a South African court this morning for his bail hearing, and journalists and the public got a preview of both the prosecution’s case thus far, and of Oscar’s defense. And now we know where the whole “maybe Oscar thought Reeva was an intruder and that’s why he shot her multiple times through a locked bathroom door” defense came from – it came from Oscar himself. That was the explanation he gave to the first police officers on the scene. And it seems like the judge/magistrate is agreeing with the prosecution thus far too – that there’s enough evidence to hold on to the charge of “premeditated murder”. While cameras weren’t allowed to film the hearing, reporters were allowed inside the courthouse, so we know exactly what happened.

Oscar Pistorius told a packed courtroom Tuesday that he shot his girlfriend to death by mistake, thinking she was a robber. The prosecutor called it premeditated murder. The double amputee said in an affidavit read by his lawyer at his bail hearing that he felt vulnerable because he did not have on his prosthetic legs when he pumped bullets into the locked bathroom door. Then, Pistorius said in the sworn statement, he realized that model Reeva Steenkamp was not in his bed.

“It filled me with horror and fear,” he said.

He put on his prosthetic legs, tried to kick down the door, then bashed it in with a cricket bat to find Steenkamp, 29, shot inside. He said he ran downstairs with her, but “She died in my arms.”

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel on Tuesday charged the 26-year-old athlete and Olympian with premeditated murder, alleging he took the time to put on his legs and walk some seven yards from the bed to the bathroom door before opening fire. If convicted of the crime, correspondent Emma Hurd reports for CBS News that Pistorius could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The Valentine’s Day shooting death has shocked South Africans and many around the world who idolized Pistorius for overcoming adversity to become a sports champion, competing in the London Olympics last year in track besides being a Paralympian. Steenkamp was a model and law graduate who made her debut on a South African reality TV program that was broadcast on Saturday, two days after her death.

The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. Nel told the court that Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where Steenkamp was cowering after a shouting match. He fired four times and three bullets hit Steenkamp, the prosecutor said.

“She couldn’t go anywhere. You can run nowhere,” prosecutor Nel argued. “It must have been horrific.”

Pistorius sobbed softly as his lawyer, Barry Roux, insisted the shooting was an accident and that there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge.

“Was it to kill her, or was it to get her out?” he asked about the broken-down door. “We submit it is not even murder. There is no concession this is a murder.”

He said the state had provided no evidence that the couple quarreled nor offered a motive.

Nel rebutted: “The motive is `I want to kill.”‘

As details emerged at the dramatic court hearing in the capital, Steenkamp’s body was being cremated Tuesday at a memorial service in the south-coast port city of Port Elizabeth. The family said members had arrived from around the world. Six pallbearers carried her coffin, draped with a white cloth and covered in white flowers, into the church for the private service.

[From CBS News]

The magistrate said that he would consider downgrading the “premeditated murder” charge at a later date if the evidence warranted it. As for the question of motive… I’m going to quote/paraphrase from the great Brenda Leigh Johnson – “Sometimes we don’t know WHY people do what they do but only HOW they do it, and that’s enough. Motive isn’t what gets us a conviction.” Will this case come down to when Oscar put on his prosthetic legs and whether the order of events signifies premeditation? That’s a problem though – because juries love motives. It’s human nature. We like to know WHY people do horrible things. And that’s where Oscar’s history comes in. Will the prosecution be able to prove a history of domestic violence? One of Oscar’s ex-girlfriends seems willing to talk, so we’ll see.

Photos courtesy of WENN and Reeva’s Twitter.

Oscar Pistorius’s next court appearance will be on Tuesday, and that’s when we’ll see if the judge will allow him to be released on bail. Until then, media outlets are playing catch-up and trying out various theories and explanations to try to work out how Oscar’s beautiful girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp ended up being shot multiple times in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in Oscar’s home. Vulture has some new details and a recap of where we are now:

Olympian Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius is currently on suicide watch in a jail cell in Johannesburg, South Africa, having been charged with premeditated murder for shooting his 30-year-old girlfriend, aspiring model Reeva Steenkamp, four times in the head, chest, and hand. Steenkamp was killed in the bathroom of Pistorius’s home on Thursday, when the athlete claims that he mistook her for an intruder.

While that explanation has been largely dismissed by law enforcement so far, a source has told Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld that paramedics arrived on the scene to find Pistorius attempting to revive Steenkamp with mouth-to-mouth.

Since Pistorius’s possible second thoughts don’t change what happened, prosecutors and police have yet to comment on the resuscitation update and are instead focusing their attentions on neighbors’ reports of a disturbance at the home several hours before the shooting. More bad news for Pistorius, who faces a life sentence in one of the world’s most ruthless prison systems: One of his ex-girlfriends, Samantha Taylor, has been approached by police to testify against him and says she is “prepared to reveal what Pistorius made me go through.”

Australia’s Daily Telegraph reports that Steenkamp, whose Twitter feed reveals her to be an outspoken critic of South Africa’s pervasive rape culture, was scheduled to give a motivational speech to a group of high school students the day after she was killed.

“It was about empowerment and inspiration and what inspires you and how to follow your dreams,” said her publicist, who’d seen Steenkamp’s notes, which drew heavily on an abusive relationship she’d had before she started dating Pistorius back in November.

Meanwhile, a South African television channel says it still plans to go ahead with Tropika Island of Treasure, a reality show set in Jamaica where Steenkamp and several other celebrities compete for a prize worth over $100,000. One of Steenkamp’s cousins says that, while the network has yet to get in touch with the family, they’re actually all planning to watch the series premiere tonight.

“Her last words to us personally was that she wants us to watch it,” she said. “Reeva would’ve liked us to watch it,” her uncle told People magazine. Tonight’s show will be dedicated to Steenkamp’s memory and will include a tribute to her.

[From NY Magazine]

The part about Oscar’s ex-girlfriend coming forward to tell her story is interesting, isn’t it? I will be very interested to see where that goes. As for the part of the story where Oscar allegedly tried to revive Reeva after shooting her (through the bathroom door?), I guess that might work as an explanation for why Oscar didn’t call the police or paramedics immediately – he was trying to take care of her himself? He was in shock? Perhaps. But here’s another interesting wrinkle – Oscar’s friend Justin Divaris has told media outlets that Oscar contacted him shortly after shooting Reeva:

Oscar Pistorius was shedding tears long before his trip to the courtroom on Friday, Feb. 15 — calling best friend Justin Divaris and sobbing in the moments immediately after his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot, the UK’s Sunday People reports.

According to the British newspaper, the 26-year-old Olympian reached out to Divaris, a chief executive of luxury car sales firm Daytona Group, in the early hours of Thursday, Feb. 14, saying that “Reeva had been shot.”

“I said to him, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t understand you,’” Divaris told the paper. “He then repeated himself — ‘There has been a terrible accident, I shot Reeva.’”

The businessman then detailed how he spoke with his distraught friend’s neighbor and immediately rushed to Pistorius’ gated estate with his girlfriend Sam in tow, only to find the home blocked off.

“It was very traumatic,” he said. “By the time we got there it was already a crime scene and we weren’t allowed in the house. But we could see Reeva through the door lying there covered in blankets and towels at the bottom of the stairs.”

“[Oscar] was totally incoherent and just kept saying, ‘My baba, I’ve killed my baba. God take me away,’” Divaris continued. “It is so sad. I introduced Reeva to Oscar. She was a really good friend of mine too and actually had been a friend longer. … I don’t understand exactly what happened but the truth will come out.”

Pistorius broke down in tears in a South African courtroom the following day, on Friday, Feb. 15, after being charged with premeditated murder. Mike Steenkamp, the 30-year-old model’s uncle, told Us Weekly that the entire family “is still in a state of disbelief” over the situation.

“There are so many questions, so many things we need to know before we can start making sense [of the situation],” Steenkamp told Us. “We have each other and everyone is sticking together and supporting each other. We try and find comfort in the fact she is in a better place now … that’s all you can do.”

A private funeral for the South African beauty is set for Tuesday, Feb. 19, back in her hometown of Port Elizabeth.

Her father Barry Steenkamp spoke out to the UK’s Mail for the first time on Sunday, Feb. 17, and expressed his grief over his daughter’s tragic death, but said that the family has “no hatred” in their hearts toward Pistorius.

“He must be going through things that we don’t know about,” he told the paper. “There is no hatred in our hearts.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m starting to get uncomfortable with the way so many people are bending over backwards to give Oscar the benefit of the doubt. I mean, innocent until proven guilty, let’s wait until all of the facts are in, etc, etc. But all of us pre-judge and all of us following this story have already formed opinions about what went down. What strikes me is how there seems to be a real movement to find something sympathetic about Oscar, to offer positive-spin theories about what might have happened… often in the face of contradictory evidence or what the police are saying thus far about the investigation. Is it a racial thing? Would the media treat Oscar differently if he was a black athlete who had murdered his girlfriend? Or is it not even a racial thing? Would the media be treating him differently if his story – before this horrible incident – hadn’t been so inspirational, if he hadn’t been such a hero and a beloved celebrity?

Oh, and police found a bloody cricket bat at the scene of the murder too. Because it was “an accident”.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Oscar Pistorius appeared in court this morning in South Africa to hear the reading of the formal charges against him. Early on Valentine’s Day, police came to Oscar’s home in gated community of Pretoria, South Africa after neighbors reported hearing gunshots. They found Oscar’s girlfriend of a few months, Reeve Steenkamp, bleeding from four gunshot wounds to head and body. She was declared dead soon after. Oscar was immediately taken into custody and arrested for murder, and he stayed the night in a jail cell at the police station, awaiting today’s hearing.

In court, the prosecutors (sidenote: I apologize for using such American terminology, it’s just how I think and write) told the judge that they were pursuing a charge of premeditated murder against Pistorius. When he heard the charge, Pistorius reportedly broke down in tears and the judge told him he could sit down, which he did. The judge also put off a bail hearing until next week, when the lawyers could be more prepared. Until then, the judge agreed that Oscar wouldn’t be put in general population of a jail and that he could stay in a jail cell at the police station. The bail hearing is set for Tuesday.

Oscar’s family, management and lawyer issued a statement: “The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms.” It also said that Pistorius “would like to send his deepest sympathies to the family of Reeva.”

As for all of the other stuff… I’m actually glad that the South African police and the prosecutors are coming out of the gate with such a strong pushback against the story that this was some kind of “accidental” shooting. But Sports Illustrated has an extensive piece on how Oscar is a major celebrity in South Africa and many already believe that this might have been an accident, and that many are sympathizing with him.

In 2009, Oscar was arrested (and he spent the night in jail) for assaulting a 19-year-old girl in his home. There was a party, and he ordered her to leave, and as she left, he slammed the door on her leg. The charge of assault was eventually dropped. I don’t know if this was Oscar’s only history of violence or if there are more shoes to drop. We’ll see. What is becoming clearer in the first 24 hours of reporting is that Oscar is a man who loves guns and he had a hair-trigger when it came to self-defense.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.

All of us watching last year’s Summer Olympics fell in love with Oscar Pistorius, the South African athlete who became the first paralympian to compete in the Olympics (in track & field events). American viewers got to see a really wonderful interview with Pistorius, done at his South African home, and Oscar became an inspirational figure of determination and guts for so many of us. Plus, girls liked him because he’s really good-looking. Well, happy Valentine’s Day – Oscar allegedly shot his girlfriend multiple times in his home in South Africa just hours ago.

Oscar Pistorius – the “Blade Runner” who made history last year as the first Paralympian to compete in the able-bodied Olympics – was charged with murder Thursday after his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, was found shot dead inside his home in South Africa.

CNN reports that neighbors reported an incident at the house and a pistol was recovered at the scene, according to police. Early news reports said Steenkamp was planning a Valentine’s surprise for Pistorius, 26, but that it went horribly wrong.

Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said, “There is no other suspect involved” and that there had been “previous incidents” at Pistorius’s home.

The suspect (who initially was not named, per South African law) was being cooperative and undergoing blood alcohol and forensic tests, said Beukes, adding that he requested to be brought to court immediately and that an application for bail would be refused.

A spokeswoman for Pistorius declined to comment, said CNN. The athlete’s father, Henke, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation that his son was “sad at the moment.”

Henke Pistorius added, “It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate. I don’t know the facts.”

[From People]

Some media outlets (like People) are going with the “wait and see” approach about this murder, I guess the theory being that South Africa is a dangerous place and maybe Oscar thought Reeva was an intruder and he accidentally shot her. But while CNN acknowledges that South Africa has a high crime rate and that it wouldn’t be crazy to think that he could have “accidentally” shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder, CNN spoke to the police spokesperson Denise Beukes, and she throws some shade on that theory.

“We can confirm he was taken to a police station but can’t confirm if he is the suspect,” said police spokeswoman Denise Beukes. “You will find out in the afternoon.”

Beukes said the home did not appear to show signs of forced entry and that Pistorius and the victim were the only two people at the time of the shooting.

She also said there had “previous incidents” at the home.

“Allegations of a domestic nature,” Beukes said.

Police said Pistorius was cooperating with them. Several South African media outlets reported that the woman was mistaken for an intruder. Beukes said she was aware of the reports, but that they did not come from the police force.

A spokeswoman for Pistorius declined to comment. His father, Henke, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation said Pistorius was “sad at the moment.”

“I don’t know nothing. It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate,” the father said. “I don’t know the facts.”

Police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors and that residents “heard things earlier,” Buekes said.

A pistol was recovered at the scene, police said. South Africa has a high crime rate, and it’s not unusual for homeowners to keep weapons to protect themselves from intruders.

“This is a very quiet area and this is a secure estate,” Buekes said.

[From CNN]

So while people are bending over backwards to make excuses for how a beloved Olympian could have shot his girlfriend, the South African police spokesperson is basically saying that it’s looking more and more like a man with a history of domestic violence shot his girlfriend. Ugh. Oscar is due in court later today for what I assume is the reading of the formal murder charges against him.

PS… Happy V-Day. #OneBillionRising.

Photos courtesy of WENN.