OSCAR PISTORIUS
Cries in court yesterday.
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“Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius bawled his eyes out yesterday in a South Africa courtroom, where he appeared on murder charges for allegedly gunning down his terrified gal pal through a locked bathroom door.
Pistorius, 26, “repeatedly and intentionally” shot cover-girl model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, as she cowered in fear from the Olympic star, according to Great Britain’s Independent newspaper.
“The door had bullet holes right through it,” said a neighbor, who noted that security guards found the athlete alongside the slain beauty in his bathroom at around 4 a.m. Thursday.
The gun-loving Pistorius cried throughout his first court appearance yesterday. The tears started in his holding cell and continued as he was brought before a judge.
“Take it easy,” Chief Magistrate Desmond Nasir told Pistorius, who faces life in prison as prosecutors plan to argue premeditated murder in the death of Steenkamp, a law-school grad he’d been dating a few months.
His bail hearing was delayed until Tuesday at the request of his lawyers, who will argue the shooting was the result of mistaken identity, the double-amputee runner’s friends told the Independent.
The legless track star, who runs using carbon-fiber blades, will spend the long weekend at a handicapped-friendly lockup instead of the dangerously cramped Pretoria jail known as New Lock.
“[He] will be treated the same as all the other detainees in our holding cells,” the station commander said. “We will accommodate his disability, but he will eat the same food and be put in the same cells as the rest of the detainees.”
Pistorius’ relatives and defense team visited him in jail yesterday and brought him a pillow.
In a statement, the family said, “The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms. He has made it very clear that he would like to send his deepest sympathies to the family of Reeva. He would also like to express his thanks through us today for all the messages of support he has received — but, as stated, our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family — regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
Pistorius’ lawyer, Barry Roux, said, “There are some facts that we need to present to court that have not been made public yet.”
An autopsy was performed on Steenkamp, but cops said results would not be released.
Pistorius was a well-known gun lover who kept an arsenal in his house — as well as a cricket club and baseball bat — and bragged on Twitter about his shooting prowess.
He comes across as paranoid in his online posts, including one last November that said he got into “combat recon mode” when he heard a noise that turned out to be a washing machine.
Pistorius was particularly on edge in recent weeks, a close friend told The Post.
“He was paranoid the last few weeks. He was threatened,” said the pal, who would not explain further.
The runner has a history of violence and was once arrested for slamming a door on a woman, though the charges were dropped. He also allegedly threatened to break the legs of a man he accused of sleeping with a former girlfriend.
There were previous incidents of “a domestic nature” at Pistorius’ house, said Police Brig. Denise Beukes.
Neighbors had reported “screaming and fighting” at the house in Pretoria just before the shooting.
Pistorius’ arrest could completely derail the rising track star’s career.
He won three Paralympic medals and reached the 400-meter semifinals in last summer’s London Games when he became the first double-leg amputee to compete in the Olympics.
He earned between $5 million and $6 million a year from endorsements and appearances, including for Nike.
His sponsors have not said if they are dropping him.
“Given the ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to give any further comment at present. Our thoughts are with all those affected,” a spokesperson for British Telecom said.
Nike South Africa spokeswoman Seruscka Naidoo said, “At this moment, it’s a matter that’s being investigated. We’re not speaking about the sponsorship.”
With Post Wire Services