Oscar Pistorius has decided to sell his Pretoria house where his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was murdered to cover legal expenses.
The 27-year-old paralympian's lawyer Brian Webber said Thursday that the decision was made after Steenkamp's murder trial extended beyond the three-week time that was initially set.
"Initially the State had called for three weeks to be set down in the Court calendar. However, with the trial now already into its third week and as the Prosecution is still leading evidence, it is clear that the legal process will last significantly longer than originally indicated by the State," Webber said in a statement.
He added that Pistorius has not returned to his house in Silver Woods after Steenkamp was killed on Valentine's Day last year and is instead staying at his uncle's house in Pretoria.
Ansie Louw, the estate agent, who is handling the sale of the Silver Woods Estate property, told The Independent that the upscale mansion will be sold in a closed bid. Although no price tag has been set, the agency said that the house will go for nothing less than 5 million Rand (around $500,000). Pistorius family is expecting to get the deal done latest by mid-April. He had valued the house at $456,000 last year.
Pistorius is paying his own legal fees since last year. The costs are as high as $9,000 per day. This includes at least three full-time lawyers in court, ballistic, forensic experts and a crime scene reconstruction company from the United States, reports Business Insider.
The double-amputee athlete pleaded not guilty and maintained that he killed Steenkamp, not because of any argument, but because he had mistaken her for an intruder.
Wednesday's hearing confirmed that Steenkamp was initially shot in the hip and not the head. This supports the testimonies of several witnesses who said they heard screams after shots, reports Reuters.
