14 DAY TRIAL // As previously reported, athlete Oscar Pistorius is currently attending his bond hearing in the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
News just broke that the first police officer at the murder scene is being investigated himself, for seven attempted murder charges.
Hilton Botha has testified during the hearing, and we have quoted him describing how Pistorius has aimed at the person sitting on the toilet seat in his Pretoria house restroom. That person was his 30-year-old girlfriend, who was shot four times.
“I believe that he knew that Reeva was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door,” the detective said in court. Daily Mail reveals that Botha is being accused in the murder of seven passengers in a mini-bus taxi in 2009. Along with two other officers, the 24-year police veteran opened fire on the cab. Botha was reportedly drinking heavily before the incident, while driving a state-owned car.
While charges against him were filed in 2011, they were dropped soon after, only to be reinstated as Pistorius' case made headlines.
“There was a decision taken by the DPP’s office to charge the members, each one of them with seven counts of attempted murder. That was the number of people that were in the taxi,” clarifies police spokesman Neville Malila.
Meanwhile, the hearing has revealed that the “steroids” allegedly found in the Pistorius home, as described by Botha, are in fact legal herbal remedies used by the athlete.
The witness who the detective described as overhearing the couple fighting the night of the murder was in his house, located 600 meters (1,970 feet) away from the crime scene.
Medupe Simasiku, of South Africa's National Prosecution Agency, mentions them being unaware of charges against the lead detective in the case.
“The (Pistorius) prosecutors were not aware of those charges (against Botha).
“We are calling up the information so we can get the details of the case. From there we can take action and see if we remove him from the investigation or if he stays,” Simasiku notes.