Screams, shouts... then four shots: Pistorius charged with murdering his model lover after gun horror at 4am



Incident happened at his Pretoria mansion, north of Johannesburg



Dead woman is former FHM model Reeva Steenkamp



She was shot several times in the head and hand



Neighbours woken at 4am with 'screaming and shouting'



Pistorius believed to have told police he thought she was an intruder

Media reporting it could have been a Valentine's Day surprise gone wrong

Celebrated sprinter is in police custody before a court hearing tomorrow



Officers have visited his house before over alleged 'domestic incidents'



The dark and complex life of ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius emerged yesterday as he was charged with the Valentine’s Day murder of his model girlfriend.

The 26-year-old double amputee is accused of shooting model Reeva Steenkamp, a 30-year-old law graduate, at his luxury home.

The pair had been called South Africa’s ‘golden couple’. The sensational arrest of the sporting icon – who in London became the first man to compete at both an Olympics and Paralympics – was greeted with disbelief and sadness around the world.

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Last photo: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp pose for a picture in Johannesburg last Thursday

Ominous: The Paralympic sprinter posted this message on Twitter on November 27

Miss Steenkamp, who had been dating the athlete for three months, was shot four times – in the head and hand – early yesterday at his home in a gated community on the outskirts of Pretoria.

Police said neighbours had earlier heard ‘screaming and shouting’, and revealed that officers had previously been called to the house over domestic incidents.

Now a spotlight has been cast on Pistorius’s fits of temper, his obsession with guns and a tangled love life.



Last night, detectives were said to be investigating Pistorius’s links with other women to see whether they have any bearing on the murder of one of South Africa’s premier models, who for two years had been voted among the world’s 100 Sexiest Women.



His text and voice messages were being examined to establish whether other women had left Valentine Day messages that could have led to a row.



Ominously, the Paralympic superstar had tweeted how he went into 'full combat recon mode' after mistaking his washing machine for an intruder, less than three months before his girlfriend was shot dead in the middle of the night.



Charged: Oscar Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station in Pretoria before going to court

Incident: Oscar Pistorius is believed to have shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 30, a former FHM model, pictured together on January 26 in Johannesburg

Glittering: Pistorius won six Paralympic golds with his last two coming at London 2012

In a message posted on Twitter on November 27 last year Pistorius wrote: 'Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking its an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry!'



The athlete may have killed his girlfriend with a handgun kept next to his bed after a Valentine's Day surprise went tragically wrong and he thought she was a burglar, sources have said.



But police say her death is being treated as murder, adding that officers had been sent to previous incidents of a 'domestic nature' at his address on the exclusive Silver Woods gated estate.



Brigadier Denise Beukes said neighbours were woken by 'screaming and shouting' at the time of the shooting and police were 'very surprised' by the intruder suggestion, telling reporters: 'These allegations did not come from us.'

She said there is no other suspect involved and added: 'There are witnesses and the re have also been interviews... we are talking about neighbours and people that heard things that happened earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place.'

Beauty: A modelling photo used in Reeva Steenkamp's portfolio. Mr Taylor said that she ¿touched many lives and was headed for stardom'

Pistorius is in custody and was due in court this afternoon but the hearing has now been delayed to 7am (GMT) tomorrow to allow forensics more time to work in his home.

He was arrested as a forensic team searched the property.

A 9mm pistol believed to have been owned by the atheleteand kept by his bed was recovered.

His head bent forward and covered by a grey hood, he was seen briefly as he left a police station to be taken to a cell after he had been questioned and subject to forensics tests.



Any application for bail would be opposed said Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for the prosecution.

A lawyer who visited him said he was 'very well' but emotional.

Just yesterday Miss Steenkamp spoke excitedly on Twitter about her plans for Valentine's Day.



She said: 'What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay'



Replying to a follower, she later added: 'That sounds amazing! Wow that's what it's all about! It should be a day of love for everyone :) may it be blessed!'

Last weekend she reacted to the shocking death of Anene Booysen on February 1, a 17-year-old gang-raped, murdered and mutilated at a construction site in Bredasdorp, a rural town close to Cape Town.

Next to a stark cartoon image of a woman screaming with a hand over her mouth she wrote on her Instagram account: 'I woke up in a happy safe home this morning. Not everyone did. Speak out against the rape of individuals in SA. RIP Anene Booysen. #rape #crime #sayNO.

The 30-year-old was due to speak at a local university today about the empowerment of women.

Couple: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp had been dating for a few months after meeting at a South African awards ceremony

Message: Reeva yesterday went on to Twitter to say how excited she was about Valentine's Day

Pistorius, 26, is widely known as the Blade Runner, and has also been dubbed 'the fastest man on no legs'.

The Johannesburg athlete, who was born without fibulas in his legs and had the limbs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, had to win a legal battle over his blades with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2008 for the right to compete in able-bodied competition.

He was the first double amputee to run in the able-bodied Olympics and reached the 400 semi-finals in London 2012.

Pistorius's father Henke said this afternoon his son was 'sad' and a 'bit emotional', adding: 'I don't know nothing. It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate. I don't know the facts.



'If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He's sad at the moment.

'We all pray for guidance and strength for Oscar and the lady's parents.'



His agent Peet van Zyl is heading to Pretoria to speak to his client.



'I hope I can have access to him at the police station,' he said.



'Oscar is a humble person and a lovely guy – I’m sure what’s happened has been a terrible mistake but I really don’t have the details at the moment.'

Model: Reeva Steenkamp had been seeing Oscar since November but had forged her own successful career in South Africa

Famous: The 30-year-old has 3,000 followers on Twitter and is a law graduate from Port Elizabeth, South Africa



Last appearance: Reeva Steenkamp was photographed at the Virgin Active Sports Industry Awards in Johannesburg a week ago (left) and was often showing her own snaps on Twitter



Pistorius' former coach, Andrea Gianni, said he hopes it was 'just a tragic accident.'



'No matter how bad the situation was, Oscar always stayed calm and positive. Whenever he was tired or nervous he was still extremely nice to people. I never saw him violent,' he said.

Arnu Fourie, Pistorius's roommate during London 2012 said today: 'My heart is broken for Oscar'.



'I feel for Oscar and the girl's family, I pray for him and her family, I can not imagine how they feel.



'Poor Oscar in his life had so many disappointments and tough times'.

Pretoria police would not confirm the man's identity until he appears in court, adding a 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene and a case of murder is being investigated.

THE NATION WITH THE 2ND HIGHEST GUN CRIME RATE ON EARTH

South Africa has some of the world's highest rates of violent crime and many homeowners carry weapons to defend themselves against intruders.

An average of nearly 50 people are murdered there each day, while there are also high levels of assault, rape, robbery and carjackings. But a case last year was so vile the largely desensitised public of South Africa was still shocked. Last summer a gang of robbers gunned down a father, raped and murdered his wife. Then, in a final act of sickening brutality, they drowned the couple’s 12-year-old son in scalding bath water.

Amaro Viana (pictured) was murdered in Walkerville, a suburb of Johannesburg, to prevent him from identifying the three housebreakers who carried out the raid.

According to United Nations research, South Africa has one of the highest firearm-related homicide rates in the world, second only to Colombia.

The rate, which was measured per 100,000 people, put the country's score four times higher than the United States.

According to statistics 12.7 in every 100 people in South Africa own a gun and it is estimated there are almost six million civilian firearms.

In the UK during an average year there might be 600 murders, but in South Africa this would be more than 18,000. On top of this there are also 18,000 attempted murders each year. As a result of these high levels of violent crime, many people choose to live in gated communities and employ private security guards.

These are especially common for middle class residents and often involve high perimeter fencing and alarm systems linked to security teams.

The South African Police Service also often employs security companies to protect their own police stations, with the private security industry estimated to be worth 14 billion South African rand (£1 billion).

Fear of crime is high, with the Institute for Security Studies estimating that 50 per cent of people in Pretoria feel 'very unsafe' walking in their area at nigh



Officers are still busy with preliminary investigations at the scene, and statements are being taken from neighbours on the luxury Silver Woods estate.

Police say the couple were the only people in the home at the time, there was no sign of forced entry and said the claim that Pistorius had thought his girlfriend was an intruder had not come from them.

Outside his home, Miss Steenkamp's friend Mashadi Motsogi broke down in tears.



The distressed model said she heard the news of Miss Steenkamp's death on Twitter.



'I have lost a friend,' she said, telling reporters that Miss Steenkamp's death in a secure complex did not make sense.



'Look, security here is safe. We moved to this area for security reasons. It does not make sense to me that my friend was shot, mistaken for an intruder.'



Police said an application for bail by Pistorius's lawyer Kenny Oldwage would be opposed when he appears in court tomorrow.



Pistorius was taken to hospital this morning for a medical examination police said was a 'standard procedure'.



'They (hospital staff) test under the nails, they look for scratches, bruises, and blood is taken for alcohol and drug screening,' a spokesman said .



In 2009 Pistorius spent a night in police cells after a woman complained to police that he had assaulted her during a party at his house.



The incident allegedly occurred at the same Silver Woods home as where Miss Steenkamp died.



Although Pistorius was charged with assault, he was eventually released with a warning.



At the time, police spokeswoman Sergeant Marinda Stoltz said the victim, whom Pistorius had told to leave, banged and kicked his front door.



'He (Pistorius) told the girl ‘this is my house and my friends and you have to leave’. He then started closing the door when a wooden beam weighing about 1,5kg fell on her leg and injured her.'



She said the girl reported the incident hours later. 'The girl then also admitted that she had been drinking,' said Stoltz.

Homes there are surrounded by a giant wall, with electric fences and armed guards who stop every vehicle leaving or entering to keep it secure in a country with high rates of violent crime.

Around 50 people every day are murdered in South Africa and it is common for people to keep weapons in their home.

Home: Neighbours of the athlete say they heard noise from the house (pictured today) just before the authorities arrived

Location: Pistorius's home is inside a gated housing complex with a nature reserve, golf course and lots of green space, all within high walls

Police: South African police vehicles enter the Silverwoods security estate in Pretoria East where famous South African paralympic and Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp today

Investigation: Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes confirmed the celebrated athlete was in custody charged with murder

In an interview with the Mail before London 2012 it was revealed Pistorius slept with a pistol next to his bed, a machine gun by a window with a cricket bat and baseball bat behind the door .

'The problem is when the guards are in on the crime. It’s usually safe in guarded estates like this until that happens,’ he said.

In a later piece for the New York Times he took a reporter to the local shooting range to fire his 9mm handgun and two boxes of ammunition.



He admitted he would go shooting 'when I can’t sleep' and an online advertisement featuring him for Nike read: 'I am a bullet in the chamber,' which was pulled from his website today.

Pistorius also posted a photograph of himself at a shooting range in November 2011 to the social media website Twitter, bragging about his score tweeting: 'had a 96% headshot over 300m from 50shots! Bam!' he tweeted.



Another tweet shows his concern about someone breaking into his home, on November 27 last year he wrote: 'Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking its an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry! waa'.



Advert: An image on Oscar Pistorius's website for his sponsor Nike, linked to his love of shooting, has been removed

Adverts for television coverage of the Oscars featuring Oscar Pistorius were seen being pulled down in Johannesburg today

Workmen move quickly to replace the roadside posters in the South Africa city

Miss Steenkamp, a law graduate from Port Elizabeth, gave an interview to the Sunday Times in South Africa last week where she described her boyfriend as 'an impeccable man who always her best interests at heart'.

On February 1, Steenkamp tweeted about Pistorius, saying: 'He certainly doesn't need more followers but he's beautiful to look at & says some smart stuff too ;).'

On her Facebook and Twitter pages, she describes herself as an 'SA Model, FHM Cover Girl, Tropika Island of Treasure Celeb Contestant, Law Graduate, Ambassador'

Oscar Pistorius' sister, Aimee, left, leaves the Mamelodi Hospital, east of Pretoria where she visited her brother while he was being examined earlier today

Her instagram site Miss Steenkamp's last entry four days ago showed a cartoon female face being hit by a hand, and was accompanied by: 'I woke up in a happy safe home this morning. Not everyone did. Speak out against the rape of individuals in SA. RIP Anene Booysen.'



Family members of South African Paralympic and Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius embrace at Boschkop police station, where he is being held

A post on the same site two weeks ago shared a poster detailing the joys of finding love.



The poster read: 'It's beautiful when you find someone that is in love with your mind.



'Someone that wants to undress your conscience and make love to your thoughts.



'Someone that wants to watch you slowly take down all the walls you've built up around your mind and let them inside.'

This weekend, Steenkamp was set to star in South African reality television series Tropika Island Of Treasure, in which celebrities and ordinary people compete in remote, exotic locations in a variety of daily challenges.



On the show's website, a tribute to Steenkamp says: 'We are deeply saddened and extend our condolences to Reeva's family and friends.'

Sarit Tomlinson, Steenkamp’s publicist, told Sky News: ‘She was the sweetest human being and an absolute angel on earth. She was the kindest, most unbelievable girl.



‘They had been together for a couple of months and it had been a healthy, fabulous relationship. At the moment it’s shocking. No-one knows what’s happened.

‘She was a rising star. There was so much in the pipeline for her: she was just about to explode into the media.

Incident: Oscar Pistorius is accused of murdering Reeva Steenkamp, 30, a high profilemodel, pictured together in November at an awards ceremony, and right, doing her job



‘She was a very talented, very bright young girl. It’s too shocking for words. We’ll miss her so much, too much. Our condolences go to her family.’

Friends and loved ones posted tributes onto her Facebook page within minutes of news of her death.



Nicky Hiles said: 'Another young taken due to crime in South Africa', Dawn Walker said: 'Such a tragedy... RIP,' Kathleen Louise Nutman added: 'Gone two (sic) Soon RIP.’



Scene: Oscar's Pistorius' home where Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead

Death: Oscar Pistorius on his Pretoria at his house in Pretoria, where a woman believed to be his girlfriend was found shot dead today

Grand: Mr Pistorius lives in a large farm in Pretoria, which is surrounded by high walls and armed guards

The blade-runner has done more than any other athlete to put the Paralympics on the global map since he first won medals aged 17 in the Athens Games of 2004.

He was expected to take home a haul of paralympic golds at London 2012 but failed to deliver.

His first final was in the 200m, where he finished a shock second to Brazilian Alan Oliveira, and then accused rivals, including his young conqueror, of running on blades that were too long.



Then Pistorius had to settle for fourth place in the 100m individual event when the glory went to Britain’s new track icon, Jonnie Peacock.



But this defeat and the outburst were followed by a measure of redemption when Pistorius anchored his country’s 4 x 100m relay gold in a world record time.

Just three days ago, Pistorius tweeted about his excitement regarding his first race of 2013, accompanied by a photograph of him in action.

He said: '1 month till my first race of 2013.. Can't wait to burn it up!'

Perhaps due in part to his sudden financial and sporting success, Pistorius has a notoriously complex love life.



Prior to their split late last year, he spent a year and a half dating Cape Town marketing student Samantha Taylor.



But even while he was with Miss Taylor, he was linked with numerous other women, including Russian model Anastassia Khozissova.



Family members of Oscar Pistorius, including his brother (right), were pictured outside the police station where he was being held

Pistorius was first seen with Miss Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in South Africa last November. At the time, the FHM model said the pair were 'just friends'.



But when it became clear that Pistorius and Steenkamp were in fact dating, the sportsman's then ex Samantha Taylor said: 'Oscar has such a way with women. She’s probably not the only one he’s got.”

Miss Taylor went on to tell South Africa's City Press newspaper that 'Oscar is certainly not what people think he is.'



Winner: Oscar Pistorius celebrates with his gold medal following the men's 400m win at London 2012

Icon: The athlete has done more than anyone to promote disabled sport and is one of the world's most famous athletes

Custody: Clothes hang out of prison cells at the Pretoria Central Prison, where Oscar Pistorius is allegedly being held before his court appearance today

PISTORIUS MANSION IS ON 'SAFEST ESTATE' IN SOUTH AFRICA The estate where South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is one of the country's best protected.

In 2009, Silver Woods Golf Estate (above) was voted 'the most secure estate in South Africa', according to its website.

Located in the east of the country's capital Pretoria, the estate consists of more than 1,600 plots of land up to 3,000 sq m (32,000 sq ft) built around an 18-hole golf course.

Offering a tranquil lifestyle 'unparalleled in the Pretoria region', it has electrified fences, armed 24-hour security guards and manned controlled access.

Prices for homes can be up to nine million South African rand (£650,000) for a five-bedroom property.

As well as its golf course, Silver Woods estate has tennis courts, a driving range, a restaurant, a squash club and a fishing club, as well as a 'social responsibility committee'.

The estate incorporates a wildlife reserve, and in recent years new lakes have been built and existing ones enlarged to turn the estate into a wildlife haven, inhabited by rare birds such as African spoonbills, mongooses and giant African bullfrogs. A spokesman said today: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic circumstances that occurred today at Silver Woods. Our sincere condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to Reeva Steenkamp’s family and friends'.



The 26-year-old sportsman has a history of risk taking and also, reportedly, of violence.



In November last year, he reportedly 'threatened to break the legs' of the friend of a man whom he believed had slept with his then girlfriend, who is not Miss Steenkamp.



According to newspaper reports, the sportsman approached South African football player Marc Batchelor in the VIP room of a horse racing track and verbally threatened him.



South African journalist Kalay Maistry told Sky News: 'It is alleged that he thought his girlfriend, who’d come in to try to surprise him for Valentine's Day, was an intruder. It’s alleged that he shot her in the arm and head.



'I think what this actually highlights is the level of fear ordinary South Africans have.



'This is a man who has gone to bed, it’s an innocent surprise from a girlfriend … and the moment he thinks someone is trying to break in he grabs his gun.



'This has come as a complete surprise for a man who’s considered a national hero.'

On Pistorius's website, a quote from Lord Coe from before London 2012 describes him as a 'real inspiration to people around the world', and a spokesman from sports giant Nike describes time with Pistorius as 'some of the most inspirational time we've ever spent around an athlete'.

Lord Coe said: 'Oscar is an extraordinary athlete who has made a significant impact in international sport.



'It will be fantastic to see him compete in London this summer - spectators can expect a real treat!



'He's been a real inspiration to people around the world so we were thrilled when he decided to join our International Inspiration programme as an ambassador, helping us to inspire young people worldwide.'



Arturo Nunez, Nike emerging markets marketing director, said: 'Nike routinely works with the best athletes in the world, and Oscar Pistorius stands out on that list.



'Many world-class athletes visit Nike and amaze our community, but the two weeks that Oscar spent on campus last summer went down as some of the most inspirational time we've ever spent around an athlete.'

Many athletes have reacted to the news as the story unfolded.



Jessica Ennis spoke of her shock on Twitter, describing the 'the horrendous news' as 'an awful tragedy'.



Denise Lewis said: 'Not a good morning athletics fans - News reports on Oscar Pistorius are unbelievable.'



Britain's Paralympic discus champions also went online to relay their shock.



Aled Davies tweeted 'Wow... Crazy news about Oscar... Devastating and speechless...' while Josie Pearson simply stated it was 'Tragic'.



Wheelchair racer Shelly Woods, silver medallist in the London 2012 Paralympic marathon, tweeted: 'Woke up to shocking news about Oscar Pistorius, very very sad...'



THE METEORIC RISE OF OSCAR PISTORIUS: 'THE FASTEST MAN ON NO LEGS'

Oscar Pistorius was born 26 years ago into a prominent family in Pretoria without fibulas, the outer of the bones that run between the knee and the ankle.

His parents, Sheila and Henke, grappled with information, complied with doctors’ advice, and at 11 months, his legs were amputated below the knee.

‘It was a hugely emotional decision,’ said Dr Gerry Versfeld, the orthopaedic surgeon who performed the operation.

‘It is easier now to convince somebody the right way to go is amputation because Oscar Pistorius is an icon you can point to and say, “Look, this is possible”.’

Much of his success is attributed to the fact he was always treated as a ‘normal little boy’.

By the time he arrived at Constantina Kloof Primary School aged five, Pistorius had been walking on his rigid glass fibre prosthetic legs for almost four years. Usually he ran.

One of Pistorius’s first memories is hurtling down a hill on a go-kart with his brother, Carl, who then decided to use one of Oscar’s prostheses as an impromptu brake to stop them crashing.

‘My brother was like my hero when I was growing up,’ said Pistorius. ‘He’s a year and a bit older. We’re still very close. We stayed on a plot that was near an informal settlement, like a township, and we used to go and play football with the kids there and we used to have so much fun.

‘We would build tree houses in the holiday and we had motorbikes on a track in our garden. It’s nice to have someone who pushes you to do things. You’re always trying to compete with him.

Oscar Pistorius was in high school when he showed up at Jannie Brooks’s garage gym in Pretoria, South Africa, with a group of friends looking to get fitter.

He boxed, skipped and did press-ups until he threw up. It was six months before Brooks realised he had no legs.

‘He was just one of the bunch, doing everything at the same pace as everybody else,’ he said.

‘Between the classroom and the fields there were two sets of stairs,’ said Tessa Shellard, who taught Pistorius maths and PE. ‘I used to cringe because he would always run down. I closed my eyes waiting for him to fall. But he never did.

‘His legs would chafe and give him enormous blisters on his stumps but he did rugby, cricket, football and absolutely everything else.

‘He wasn’t quick at all because of his heavy legs but in inter-house athletics, Oscar would do the sprints every year knowing full well he would come last.’ At 13, Pistorius began boarding at Pretoria Boys School (above). ‘During the admissions interview I had concerns about how a legless boy would fare with the rough and tumble of a school of 1500 teenagers,’ said Bill Shroeder, headteacher of the school until 2009. ‘All his mother could say was,

'Of course he’ll cope”. That was how she brought him up — to be completely normal.’

Pistorius went down in school folklore when, during a rugby match, a player from the opposite team tackled him. ‘His legs came off in the boy’s arms,’ said Shroeder. ‘But he carried on running over the line, I think the other kid still has nightmares.’

Pistorius threw himself into sport following his mother’s death when he was 15, but suffered a knee injury playing rugby in 2003. He did athletics as a form of rehab at the University of Pretoria.

Less than a year later, he lit up the Athens Paralympics aged 17, winning gold in the 200m and bronze in the 100m in the T44 class, which also includes single below-the-knee amputees.

Pistorius, once voted South Africa’s sexiest celebrity now earns more than £1m a year in deals to promote everything from perfume to groceries and telecommunications.





VIDEO People react in shock to news of Reeva Steenkamp's death









VIDEO Pistorius leaves police station after murder charge ...

VIDEO Police detail 'previous domestic incidents' in Pistorius home

VIDEO FHM Model Reeva was due to star in upcoming Tropika Island of Treasure