Leaked video footage of Oscar Pistorius running on his stumps, filmed as part of a confidential re-enactment of the moments he shot and killed then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before carrying her down the stairs of his house, could jeopardise her murder trial.
The paralympian runner, whom we’re used to seeing on his prosthetic limbs or the blades he uses for his athletics, runs around on his stumps in the re-enactment footage of the fatal shooting of Reeva. Both he and his lawyers attest that the killing of Reeva was accidental, and that he shot her four times through his bathroom door because he thought she was an intruder.
Oscar had performed the re-enactment for his lawyers in preparation for the trial, they say, and the footage was to remain confidential otherwise it could influence the outcome of the trial. Brian Webber, a spokesperson for his lawyers, told Reuters: ‘For the family, the airing of this footage constitutes a staggering breach of trust and an invasion of the family’s privacy.’
The footage was leaked to Australian news broadcaster Channel 7, and from there it was broadcast and watched by 1.3 million people.
As well as walking briskly on his stumps in the video, Oscar mimes a gun and aims it, and his sister acts out the role of Reeva by lying down in the bathroom, according to the Mail Online. The re-enactment didn’t take place in Oscar’s Pretoria home where model and socialite Reeva was shot four times in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013, but in the lawyers’ office.
It makes for pretty bizarre viewing, especially when so much of the case has been predicated on the fact that Oscar might not be able to walk properly on his stumps, or might feel vulnerable on them. The speed at which he moves seems to contradict the bit of his testimony where he said: ‘I have very limited mobility.’
However, the footage leak won’t necessarily influence a jury wrongly – there are no juries in South Africa, where he is on trial. That said, experts say it could result in a mistrial: ‘If it was produced by the defence as part of their investigation and preparation for the trial, it’s strictly privileged, it’s confidential and it cannot be used,’ said Stephen Tuson, professor at the Wits School Of Law.
‘Whatever you tell your attorney is strictly confidential and privileged, if there’s a breach of that, there can be a mistrial,’ he told Reuters, adding: ‘If there is a failure of justice, that’s the end of the trial.’
Regardless of the outcome, Reeva’s mother June is ready to forgive Oscar. ‘I don’t hate Oscar. I’ve forgiven him. I have to, that’s my religion. But I am determined to face him and reclaim my daughter,’ she told *Hello!, The Independent *reports.
The trial continues.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.