REUTERS
Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock during a break in court proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrates court in South Africa today.
PRETORIA, South Africa —
A witness heard "non-stop shouting" coming from the home of Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius shortly before his girlfriend was shot dead, the lead detective in the murder investigation said on Wednesday.
Warrant officer Hilton Botha, a detective with 24 years on the force, also told the Pretoria magistrates court that Pistorius' girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, was hit by three bullets, in the head, elbow and hip.
Pistorius, a double amputee known as the "Blade Runner", broke down in tears as Botha presented his testimony.
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The shooting has stunned South Africa and the millions around the world who saw the track glory of the athlete, who had no lower legs, as an inspiring tale of triumph over adversity.
Steenkamp was in a locked toilet adjoining Pistorius' bathroom when she was shot in the early hours of Thursday last week. Botha said the angle at which the shots were fired through the door suggested the shooter had aimed specifically to hit somebody on the toilet.
Botha, who arrived at the scene at 4:15 local time to find Steenkamp dead at the bottom of the stairs, also said police had found unlicensed .38 ammunition in Pistorius' house in an upmarket gated compound north of Pretoria.
In an additional revelation Wednesday, police said they found two boxes of testosterone and needles in the Pistorius' bedroom.
Pistorius' defense lawyer, Barry Roux, said the substance found in the bedroom was a "herbal remedy" not a steroid and not a banned substance.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said police are not saying that Pistorius used the substance, simply that it was found in his bedroom.
In an affidavit delivered on Tuesday, Pistorius said he used to sleep with a 9-mm pistol under his bed and had grabbed it when he awoke in the middle of the night thinking an intruder had climbed through his bathroom window and entered the toilet.
The 26-year-old then described how he fired into the door in a blind panic, in the belief the intruder was lurking in the toilet.
He said he and Steenkamp, 30, had been asleep in bed before he woke up.
In contrast, Nel painted a picture of a premeditated killing, a crime which carries a life sentence in South Africa. "If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated," he told the packed courtroom on Tuesday.
Witness heard 'non-stop shouting' from Pistorius home before fatal shooting
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Witness heard 'non-stop shouting' from Pistorius home before fatal shooting
