Oscar Pistorius has been officially charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in a South African court Tuesday.
However, a statement from the the Blade Runner, read in court, says that Pistorius believed Steenkamp was an intruder and he felt a “sense of terror” and also felt “extremely vulnerable” since he wasn’t wearing his prosthetic legs at the time.
“I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder as I had no intention to kill my girlfriend,” the statement read as the iconic athlete sobbed, sometimes uncontrollably.
It added that after the shooting, he “picked Reeva up as I’d been told not to wait for the paramedics… She died in my arms.”
But according to Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, there’s “no possible explanation to support” that the London Olympian considered his girlfriend an intruder. He alleges that Steenkamp was cowering in the bathroom after a shouting match last Thursday morning.
“She locked that door for a purpose,” Nel said, according to Reuters. “If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated. The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven meters and I kill.” He added that he was more convinced about what happened after hearing the Pistorius’s defense.
The hearing is adjourned until Wednesday morning.
