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| Detective in Pistorius Case Faces Prior Charges | Detective in Pistorius Case Faces Prior Charges |
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| PRETORIA, South Africa — In a remarkable twist in the case of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of killing his girlfriend, the South African police said on Thursday that the officer leading the investigation is himself facing seven criminal charges of attempted murder. | |
| The disclosure seemed to present one more setback for the prosecution’s efforts over days of hearings to deny bail for Mr. Pistorius, deepening questions surrounding the detective, Hilton Botha. | The disclosure seemed to present one more setback for the prosecution’s efforts over days of hearings to deny bail for Mr. Pistorius, deepening questions surrounding the detective, Hilton Botha. |
| Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Mr. Botha was forced to concede that he could not rule out Mr. Pistorius’s version of events in the shooting death of his girlfriend based on the existing evidence, apparently undermining the prosecution case. | |
| “The poor quality of evidence presented by chief investigating officer Botha exposed the disastrous shortcomings in the state’s case,” said Mr. Pistorius’s defense lawyer, Barry Roux. | |
| The courtroom itself became part of the drama on Thursday when the magistrate hearing the case ordered an abrupt and brief suspension because of an unexplained “threat to the court.” | The courtroom itself became part of the drama on Thursday when the magistrate hearing the case ordered an abrupt and brief suspension because of an unexplained “threat to the court.” |
| While the prosecution has accused Mr. Pistorius, 26, of premeditated murder in the killing on Feb. 14, Mr. Pistorius has said he opened fire thinking there was an intruder in his home in a gated community and had no intention of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29. | |
| When the bail hearing resumed on Thursday — Mr. Pistorius’s fourth court appearance since the killing on Feb. 14 — the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, began by acknowledging the attempted murder charges against Mr. Botha, but said prosecutors did not know that case had been reinstated by the time Mr. Botha testified against Mr. Pistorius on Wednesday. | When the bail hearing resumed on Thursday — Mr. Pistorius’s fourth court appearance since the killing on Feb. 14 — the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, began by acknowledging the attempted murder charges against Mr. Botha, but said prosecutors did not know that case had been reinstated by the time Mr. Botha testified against Mr. Pistorius on Wednesday. |
| Mr. Botha was not present when the Pistorius bail hearings resumed Thursday, and the court briefly adjourned while officers went to find him. | Mr. Botha was not present when the Pistorius bail hearings resumed Thursday, and the court briefly adjourned while officers went to find him. |
| The case has continued to take a toll on Mr. Pistorius’s global reputation as an emblem of athletic prowess and of triumph over adversity. On Thursday, Nike became the latest corporate sponsor to suspend ties with him. “We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the company said in a statement on its Web site. | |
| Here in Pretoria, in a development that seemed as bewildering as it was sensational on Thursday, a police brigadier, Neville Malila, said earlier that Detective Botha was set to appear in court in May facing attempted murder charges relating to an episode in October 2011, when Mr. Botha and two other police officers were accused of firing at a minivan carrying seven people. | |
| “Botha and two other policemen allegedly tried to stop a minibus taxi with seven people. They fired shots,” Brigadier Malila said. | |
| While the charges were initially dropped, “we were informed yesterday that the charges will be reinstated,” he said. “At this stage, there are no plans to take him off the Pistorius case.” | While the charges were initially dropped, “we were informed yesterday that the charges will be reinstated,” he said. “At this stage, there are no plans to take him off the Pistorius case.” |
| South African news reports said the 2011 shooting happened when the officers were pursuing a man accused of killing and dismembering a woman. | |
| Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said “the decision to reinstate was taken on Feb. 4, way before the issue of Pistorius” or the shooting death of Ms. Steenkamp “came to light.” | Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said “the decision to reinstate was taken on Feb. 4, way before the issue of Pistorius” or the shooting death of Ms. Steenkamp “came to light.” |
| “It’s completely unrelated to this trial,” the spokesman said. | “It’s completely unrelated to this trial,” the spokesman said. |
| Mr. Botha was quoted in South African news reports as denying claims that he was drunk during the episode in question. He said he and other officers had aimed at the wheels of the minivan without causing injuries and he was convinced that the case had been withdrawn. | |
| Calling the timing “totally weird,” Bulewa Makeke, a spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said Mr. Botha should be replaced but the final decision lay with the police, not the prosecutors. | Calling the timing “totally weird,” Bulewa Makeke, a spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said Mr. Botha should be replaced but the final decision lay with the police, not the prosecutors. |
| “Is he going to be dropped from the case? I don’t know. I think the right thing would be for him to be dropped,” Ms. Makeke said outside Magistrate’s Court in Pretoria. | |
| The Pistorius case has riveted South Africa and fascinated a wider audience, reflecting Mr. Pistorius’s status as one of the world’s most renowned athletes, whose distinctive carbon-fiber running blades inspired the nickname Blade Runner. | |
| On Wednesday, what was supposed to be a simple bail hearing took on the proportions of a full-blown trial, with sharp questions from the presiding magistrate, Desmond Nair, and a withering cross-examination that left Detective Botha grasping for answers that did not contradict his earlier testimony. | On Wednesday, what was supposed to be a simple bail hearing took on the proportions of a full-blown trial, with sharp questions from the presiding magistrate, Desmond Nair, and a withering cross-examination that left Detective Botha grasping for answers that did not contradict his earlier testimony. |
| Initially, Detective Botha explained how preliminary ballistic evidence supported the prosecution’s assertion that Mr. Pistorius had been wearing prosthetic legs when he shot at a locked bathroom door early on Feb. 14. Ms. Steenkamp, a model and law school graduate, was hiding behind it at the time. | Initially, Detective Botha explained how preliminary ballistic evidence supported the prosecution’s assertion that Mr. Pistorius had been wearing prosthetic legs when he shot at a locked bathroom door early on Feb. 14. Ms. Steenkamp, a model and law school graduate, was hiding behind it at the time. |
| Mr. Pistorius said in an affidavit read to the court on Tuesday that he had hobbled over from his bed on his stumps and had felt extremely vulnerable to a possible intruder as a result. | Mr. Pistorius said in an affidavit read to the court on Tuesday that he had hobbled over from his bed on his stumps and had felt extremely vulnerable to a possible intruder as a result. |
| But when questioned by Mr. Roux, Mr. Pistorius’s lawyer, Detective Botha was forced to acknowledge sloppy police work, and he eventually conceded that he could not rule out Mr. Pistorius’s version of events based on the existing evidence. Mr. Roux, Mr. Pistorius’s lawyer, accused the prosecution of selectively taking “every piece of evidence” and trying “to extract the most possibly negative connotation and present it to the court.” | |
Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. | Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. |