Oscar Pistorius is selling his home where he shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to pay for legal costs associated with his ongoing murder trial.
Pistorius, the first double amputee to run in the Olympics in 2012, “cannot contemplate ever returning to live there again,” lawyer Brian Webber said in a statement.
Pistorius has had access to the house, valued at over $450,000 at last year’s bail hearing, for over a year but hasn’t returned, leaving it sealed.
Pistorius shot four times through a bathroom door, hitting Steenkamp inside his Pretoria, South Africa, home on the early morning of Valentine’s Day 2013.
Pistorius has said he fired thinking there was an intruder locked inside the bathroom. Prosecutors say he fatally shot Steenkamp after an argument that night. He could face 25 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.
The trial concluded its 13th day Wednesday, and the prosecution expects to close its case early next week. The trial will resume Monday, and it could last into April and longer. The increasing legal fees with a longer trial caused Pistorius to sell his home.
“Due to the delay in finalizing the trial, the decision to urgently dispose of his single biggest asset, has had to be made,” the statement read.
