It’s the first time Blade Runner won’t need his legs to win.
Whether Oscar Pistorius attached his prosthetics before shooting his beautiful girlfriend to death is a crucial factor that will determine if he’s charged with premeditated murder.
The legless Olympian insisted in a long sworn statement read during his bail hearing yesterday that he walked on his stumps up to the bathroom while girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was inside and, thinking she was an intruder, shot her three times.
But South African prosecutors — laying out their case for the first time — said Pistorius obviously planned to kill Steenkamp because he took time to attach his prosthetic legs before firing.
A judge will rule today whether Pistorius will be charged with premeditated murder or a lesser crime such as negligent killing — and the prosthetics are key.
If it’s premeditated, Pistorius, 26, won’t be granted bail and he’ll face life in prison if convicted.
If it’s not, he will be eligible for bail and a lesser sentence if convicted.
Pistorius is currently being held without bail.
Pistorius “armed himself, attached his prosthesis, walked [23 feet] to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet. He shot four times,” prosecutor Gerrie Nel said yesterday.
“There’s no possible explanation to support his report that he thought it was a burglar. If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated.
“The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven meters and I kill. The motive is ‘I want to kill.’ That’s it,” Nel insisted.
“She couldn’t go anywhere,” Nel said of Steenkamp, 29, who the prosecutor claims was cowering in the locked bathroom after a fight with Pistorius.
“It was all part of the preplanning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?
“This deceased was in a 1.4-by-1.14-meter little room. She could go nowhere.
“It must have been horrific.”
It’s unclear how long it takes Pistorius to attach his prosthetics — some amputees say it takes a few minutes per leg.
Wearing a gray suit and blue shirt and tie, the gun-loving Pistorius shuddered and wept uncontrollably during the hearing.