Was South African Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius on steroids, and was PED use at all related to the alleged murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp?
As a bail hearing continued Wednesday in the shocking murder case, police testified that they discovered testosterone and needles inside the athlete’s home.
Defense lawyers countered that Oscar Pistorius took no banned performance-enhancing drugs, describing the substances found as purely herbal.
According to the International Paralympic Committee, the star tested drug-free as recently as last September. Still, the “roid rage” questions linger.
Pistorius, 26, has claimed the fatal shooting was a case of mistaken identity, and that he thought he was firing on an intruder locked in his bathroom.
Reeva Steenkamp, 30, was struck three times, in the head, arm and hip. She was buried Tuesday amid an outpouring of national support and tributes.
Prosecutors say that his story does not hold water for a variety of reasons, and that he has a history of incidents with violence and even firearms.
Pistorius claimed to investigators that his house was dark at the time he thought an intruder was inside, but a witness for the prosecution says otherwise.
The witness said a light was switched on when the first shots were fired.
That witness said a shot rang out, a woman’s screams were heard, and more shots followed. Pistorius’s lawyer notes this “witness” lived 600 yards away.
A police detective testified that Pistorius had accidentally fired a weapon at a restaurant in January and urged a friend to take responsibility for the shooting.
A detective also testified that Pistorius threatened violence over a woman in another incident, while his attorney painted him as an upstanding figure.
The emotional Pistorius continued to proclaim his innocence.
“I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated,” Pistorius said in his own defense. “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.