Johannesburg - As Oscar Pistorius prepares for his murder trial in six months’ time, The Star has learnt that the Paralympian’s finances are now being scrutinised.
According to a confidential source with knowledge of the police inquiry, police found certain information pertaining to his finances suspicious and were now looking into this.
“Police suspect that he might not have declared all his other income, but whatever is gathered will be handed over to the South African Revenue Service,” the source said.
In his bail application in February, Pistorius indicated that he had accounts and property only in South Africa.
However, in opposing bail, investigator Warrant Officer Hilton Botha - who has since been taken off the case - had testified that the athlete had offshore accounts.
Botha also said Pistorius’s brother and lawyer had arrived at the scene of the crime and brought a locksmith to unlock a safe at the the house as they were looking for a document with an offshore account number on it, as well as a specific memory stick.
However, Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale refused to be drawn into the matter, saying they were investigating Steenkamp’s death and that he could not discuss what was in the docket.
The Pistorius family spokeswoman, Annelise Burgess, said the family had “no knowledge of any further investigations into Oscar’s finances”.
Pistorius appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where he was officially served with an indictment indicating that he faced two charges and that 107 witnesses were to be called to testify against him.
Among the witnesses are several of Pistorius’s relatives, including his sister Aimee and uncle Arthur.
Before the case started, Pistorius, his brother Carl and Aimee stood holding hands, heads bowed as they prayed.
At some point, Pistorius and Aimee broke down in tears.
The second charge is that of illegal possession of ammunition that was found at his house two days after Steenkamp’s death.
The State said Pistorius had the ammunition even though he did not have a licence in respect of a firearm capable of discharging that ammunition.
Pistorius’s uncle Arnold said after the court adjourned: “We are thankful that the trial date has been set. We can now start preparing for the court case.”
The indictment also revealed that a key witness at the trial will be Steenkamp’s ex-boyfriend, Warren Lahoud.
Steenkamp’s best friend, Gina Myers, and her family were also in court. The two were supposed to have been living it up in Las Vegas on Monday in celebration of Steenkamp’s 30th birthday.
“In court today to represent… Always with you my Alfi @reevasteenkamp miss you infinitely,” Gina tweeted on Monday.
The Myers family, with whom Steenkamp lived in Glenhazel, Joburg, would not talk to the media on Monday but spoke of their plans with Reeva on M-Net’s Carte Blanche programme on Sunday.
“She was going to Vegas for her 30th birthday - one of our friends was getting married there,” Gina said.
“It was going to be a big year.”
Steenkamp’s friends released a statement on Monday saying:
“As the world’s attention will once again turn to the court, there are those who met, knew and loved Reeva that will focus their attention on their hearts and memories, allowing her life, strength of character and passion to live on through them.”
According to the indictment, the State’s case is that:
* The accused (Oscar Pistorius) was involved with the deceased (Reeva Steenkamp), who chose to spend the night at his private residence.
* The deceased was shot and killed in the home of the accused just after 3am on February 14.
* The deceased had locked herself into the toilet cubicle, adjacent to the main bedroom, where the accused fired four shots through the door with a 9mm pistol.
* The deceased was wounded and died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds.
* Some State witnesses heard a woman scream, followed by gunshots and more screaming.
* The accused told witnesses at the scene that he thought the deceased was an intruder. Even then the accused shot with the direct intention to kill a person.
* An error in persona (mistaken identity) will not affect the intention to kill a human being.
The Star