Oscar Pistorious Pt3

[bunchamunchycrunchycarrots]

Hope no one else has started this.

Read an old story about when he was at boarding school his friends hide his legs set fire to his bed and ran away. He woke up thinking the dormatory was on fire ,and couldn't find his legsto escape. He said he was terrified. Then he realised it was a joke and showed he was part of the gang.
In this country it would be seen as extreme bullying but things like this might lend credence to waking up at night ,being terrified. Having to prove yourself against other men etc.

The mobile phone records apparently aren't pointing to anything that would have caused a fight. ewn.co.za/2013/03/04/Cell-phone-records-of-little-help

Like I said, it's very doubtful we'll find out what happened. If it was rooted in jealousy, it could be something very slight that escalated in his mind.

On another aspect, I wonder if he'd got her a Valentine present. If he had, I'm surprised we haven't been told all about it by his PR firm [/cynical]

Even if he didn't mean to kill her he surely meant to kill someone when he fired four bullets through a closed door. And I don't see how you can claim self defense if you didn't see the person, or know that they were an intruder or know if they were armed. It seems to me that if he can get away with this line of argument then anyone in South Africa can just shoot anyone who happens to live with them or be in their house and claim they thought it was an intruder.

Even if it had been an intruder, it could have been some harmless starstruck fan, just a teenage girl maybe.

Agree StarsAtNight.

And you'd think he'd at least speak though the door first before firing - and might wait to hear a voice reply.

Back on a motive for killing Reeva. This was valentines day - does he hold a torch for another woman who he might consider to be his one true love or soul mate?

I agree with everything StarsAtNight wrote in the above post.

I can't stop thinking about this. Reeva died less than three weeks ago, look how much has happened since then.

While the intruder argument is vaguely plausible I still don't understand how he passed the bed without noticing she wasn't in it

*4 weeks ago

Not Everyone Surprised at Pistorius Fall

An interesting piece about the case published on CNN today.

"So many incidents have happened and they've been well documented over the last five or six years with Oscar Pistorius," said Joffe, who worked at CNN in the 1990s. "These kinds of cases have disappeared."

The South African media has long adored Pistorius, some would say even protected him, by minimizing his problems. Yet, some of his friends and colleagues have cast doubt on the idyllic image of Pistorius portrayed by the press.

I'm being cynical. 5 mins of fame?

If you've been following OP for years, you may have seen reports, otherwise if a recent follower, you may not. To say "well-documented" and then "they've disappeared" - when? Is this hearsay or fact? Don't know!

Currentbuns - all that article has is stuff that's well known. Mark Batchelor and the boat crash. That's it.

For all the attempts at digging, the media appear able to only turn up the same stories. So either there has been 'tidying' or, as I feel more inclined to believe, there isn't anything that hasn't already been mentioned.

No you are right Jill. There isn't a lot. The guy who is quoted a lot in the CNN article is the one he had the feud with (who doesn't say this in the CNN article but he responded by saying 'Oscar, I can't hit a man with no legs', so he can't be tha much of a nice guy).

The SA police at the bail hearing couldn't come up with anything other than the gun let off at the restaurant, or the rant on the phone to Mark Batchelor.

So I think there is probably little else or they'd have used it at the bail hearing.

The judge gave him bail because he said the police hadn't presented enough evidence to prove a violent disposition.

It's so easy after the event to 'see the signs' but if he hadn't shot Reeva Steenkamp I don't think there would be all this stuff in the papers (google OP dark side and there are heaps of articles from Feb 15 about his 'dark side', when everyone started looking for it).

Here's an article with a different view to Mark Batchelor's (though Iwan Thomas didn't know he was interested in guns, so maybe didn't know him as well as he thinks):

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2283495/Nick-Harris-If-Oscar-Pistorius-darker--did-hide-says-Iwan-Thomas.html

I very much doubt the prosecution used all the evidence at their disposal for the bail hearing. Much of this evidence is presumably still being collected.

But perhaps you're all right... perhaps poor Oscar Pistorius is just maligned and misunderstood. After all, there's no proof whatsoever that he has a bad temper, problem with alcohol or obsession with drugs... Those that dare to suggest otherwise are just "out to get him" or self-publicists...

obsession with guns! not drugs

just seen. it looks like he's ditched the pr company which seems good to me. they didnt seem to do him many favours.
Still think he's a bit screwed up. whether he is any more screwed up than any other 26 year old man I dont know. But maybe he has lacked real support and folks who who know him helping him to slow up . he comes across as quite vulnerable , but out to prove to the world he isn't . I dont accept this is an excuse at all . But something for parents coaches promtoters of future young "stars" to be aware of. whether it was an accident or rage . i wouldnt like to call.

My impression from interviews (spoken, written) is of a young man living a bit of an extraordinary life, doing what you'd do naturally - working very hard and playing hard (working hard, earning the rewards, enjoying the rewards). But always a sense of vulnerability, responsibility, sensitivity, respect, awareness of how he presents himself and carries himself, a bit reserved even, and aware of how his fame and fortune is used as an example to others. However, this is the public persona and I don't doubt that amongst familiar company he can be himself much more (Twitter is an indicator of this). I also wouldn't be surprised if he has a temper because my own experience is there aren't many people in the world that are so placid and laid back to never get irked, riled, annoyed, completely narked! Few and far between.

And yes, Mary21, I agree there is an opportunity to think about how to support and guide those who go from zero to hero with fame and fortune; the responsibility and expectation that brings and how to manage it whilst remaining grounded.

Marc Batchelor. I googled him last night out of curiosity.

Those who speak of lack of guidance could probably lay that at his fathers door. OP called him "more of a mate".

Who knows what damage is caused by losing your mother during your teens and having an absent father.

Many teens/young people with a solid family life go off the rails (or at the least experiment a lot) so to have a lack of stability at a time when you are on the brink of fame and fortune.... who knows who he had guiding him.

There is a programme on BBC3 at 9 tonight about this case.

thanks for posting that info LandofTute

still trying it on, on todays news.

we all had things unpleasant happen in childhood. That is childhood.

Quite. My dad died tragically when I was 11, but I have managed to get through several decades without shooting anyone.