Oscar Pistorius case: Lawyers dispute substance found in room, witness accounts of screaming

Oscar Pistorius stands in court during his bail hearing at the magistrate's court in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 20, 2013. / AP

PRETORIA, South Africa Police say they found two boxes of testosterone and needles in the bedroom of Oscar Pistorius, the Olympian who has been charged with murder in the shooting of his girlfriend.

Detective Hilton Botha made the revelation Wednesday in testimony at the bail hearing for the athlete charged with premeditated murder (video) in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The detective also told the court that a neighbor reported hearing a gun shot, followed by screaming, and then more gun shots. The defense noted that the same witness -- who they claim lives at least 600 yards away from Pistorius' home -- seemed to have reported hearing a total number of gunshots that did not line up with forensic evidence from the scene.

• Oscar Pistorius: His account of the fatal shooting
• Reeva Steenkamp laid to rest in South Africa
• Pistorius: "She died in my arms"

19 Photos

Olympic athlete charged with murder

Police also said Wednesday that additional charges should be filed against Pistorius for possession of .38 caliber ammunition, which they said was illegal as the track star is not licensed to own any weapons of the same caliber.

The discovery of the alleged testosterone raises the possibility that the double-amputee Olympian and Paralympian might have been using performance-enhancing substances.

His defense team was quick to deny the substance found was any sort of illegal drug, claiming it was only a legal herbal remedy commonly used by athletes.

Correspondent Emma Hurd, reporting from the court for CBS News, said the dramatic bail hearing is fast turning into a sort of trial within a trial.

South African investigating officer Hilton Botha attends the bail hearing of Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria, Feb. 19, 2013.

/ Getty

Botha, the detective in charge of the investigation, told the court he arrived at Pistorius' house in the early hours of Valentine's Day to find Reeva Steemkamp dead at the bottom of the stairs, wearing white shorts and a tank top, with her body covered in towels.

Hurd said that according to Botha, Pistorius said he thought there was a burglar, but didn't say anything else to him. The athlete sobbed as the detective said Steemkamp had suffered three bullet wounds to the right side of her body -- one in her head, another in her arm and one in her hip.

Pistorius' defense seemed focused Wednesday on showing a bias against the famous runner on the part of the police investigators.

Hurd reported that his lawyers forced detective Botha in their cross examination to admit that the female witnesses who spoke of hearing the screams and gunshots was about half a mile away at the time. The detective also conceded that there were no defensive wounds on Steenkamp's body, and no apparent inconsistencies in Pistorius' version of events.

The day's events seemed to overwhelm the star athlete. He spent much of the day in tears as prosecutors in South Africa revealed new details about their premeditated murder case against him, reports CBS News' Tina Kraus.

Pistorius became the first Paralympian runner to compete at the Olympic Games in London last year.

The 26-year-old track star has insisted he shot Steenkamp, 29, by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in his gated and guarded luxury complex in the capital, Pretoria.

[Tim_Davies]

I believe he killed her in rage. The worst thing is that in Sth Africa you are allowed to kill someone if they have broken into your property.
My x boyfriend was South African and his father had killed 3 people for breaking into his factory. He had never been to jail for these murders. If Pistoriushe tries to prove that he really thinks it was an intruder he will get of free for murder..

[flanktons]

so.... even if it was an intruder, he shot this person in cold blood as they sit on his toilet in a LOCKED toilet room. its murder any way you slice it. he is a coward and very sick in the head.

we all know he wanted to shoot that woman. just because he didnt want her to die, just means he is dumb. a very dumb murderer.

[titansurfer7]

I hope they don't pull another OJ Simpson.

[Huluulu]

I wonder if there were any Valentine's
gifts,cards, or momentos in her overnight bag. A lack of any such tokens of affection would seem to indicate a lack of romantic intentions toward him on Valentine's Day. For someone so beautiful and popular as she, I tend to think she had other plans and was breaking up with him. Fully dressed to leave at 3 a.m. when he cornered her in the bathroom.

[bonzothemonkey]

Who cares whether Pistorius was crying or not? It's just a display of self serving crooodile tears to make a lame attempt to con the public into believing he didn't actually murder this poor girl but rather mistook her for a burglar? The witness's statement that sounds of her screams were heard just prior to the gun shots blows Pistorius's story out of the water. If she screamed he'd certainly have known before firing the shots that it was no burglar but the voice of his girlfriend.

[Huluulu]

Right on. And the reason she was dressed in day attire at 3 a.m. was because she was trying to make her getaway, only she got trapped in the loo. My guess is, he used the half hour between killing her and carrying her downstairs to 'rescuscitate' her in front of sympathetic witnesses - to delete incriminating texts from her phone.

[technocoffee]

She used him for a couple months to get fame. She probably told him she wanted out, there was a huge argument (which the neighbors complained about, it was so loud) and he lost it. Couldn't accept the rejection, plain & simple.

[lloydbest1]

From JAMMINIT:
"This overzealous prosecutor is risking losing the whole case, as others have who have gone for Murder 1, when it should have been a lesser charge... Casey Anthony for 1. And it won't be too surprising if it's lost b/c of that & he, like Casey, walks.The only saving grace could be they don't have a jury system like ours, so he may still fry for it, as he should."

Yes, I am afraid he might walk, too.

I also get the sense his show of grief earlier was genuine; that he really did love his mistress - or at least thought he did. While I don't buy into the premeditated part I am certain he did kill her intentionally while in a rage. Once he cooled off, realised what he did and understood how final death can be, he collapsed.

I can't really say I have much sympathy for Oscar. He was an exceptional athlete, won the admiration of his countrymen and women became an international symbol of perseverence. But because he couldn't manage his obsession with control nor control his fiery temper he threw away the whole works in one rash act. He stands to lose his freedom now and if the prosecution can pull off the long shot and prove murder 1, possibly his life.
The object lesson here is acting in haste while repenting at leisure is not the ideal path to take. If ever there was reason to think of consequences first before going off half c*cked, this case would be it.
One act of massive and inexcusable stupidity was all it took. Whatever he may have accomplished on the track means squat now, and he belongs in a high security prison.

[dpelletier777]

Now, really, you sleep with someone and you don't check to see if they are beside you before you start shooting!! Really????

[ecijoe]

What is interesting about this case is that in a U.S. court it might not stand the burden of probable cause. An American prosecutor would most likely opt for a Grand Jury finding. But the same standards may not apply in South Africa. They do not in most places in the world. It is also in most other countries that once charged one must prove themselves innocent. Making the entire situation much more a risk for a defendant.

[arborartct]

They are sleeping next to each other - he thinks intruder is there - says nothing to his girlfriend(call police, hide, etc.) but proceeds to get out of bed, get gun, shoot - REALLY?