South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has called for a group of American investigators to lend a hand in the case of his deceased girlfriend.
26-year-old Pistorius has been charged with killing late model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. Prosecutors claimed that witnesses heard a woman screaming before gunshots cracked through the early morning air, and that the sports star was responsible for pulling the trigger. Pistorius stated that he thought someone had invaded his home and was hiding in the bathroom while Steenkamp slept in bed, and that he wasn't aware that she was actually the one sitting in the restroom.
Pistorius, whose trial will begin March 2014, has employed some U.S. investigators to help out the legal team currently working on his case.
"I can confirm that a team of forensic specialists from the United States is in the country at the moment working with Oscar's defense team," spokesperson for the Paralympic athlete Anneliese Burgess told Businessweek during a phone interview on Tuesday. "We don't want to go into any further details expect that it's very standard practice to work with specialists in various fields in preparation for any trial."
If convicted, Pistorius could face a life sentencing in prison, Reuters reported. The double-amputee known as "Blade Runner" for the prosthetic legs he wears from the knee down during races, admitted that he shot Steenkamp through the bathroom door, but maintained in court that he thought she was an intruder, and that the shooting was an accident.
During his initial trial, prosecutors in the South African capital of Pretoria gathered at Magistrate Court. They said that Pistorius fired the gun "with the intention to kill a person," following an argument between him and his girlfriend.
"Some of the state witnesses heard a woman scream, followed by moments of silence, then heard gunshots and then more screaming," the 11-page indictment read.
