Leaked Photos Show Oscar Pistorius Crime Scene For The First Time

           

Miss Steenkamp was shot four times on Valentine's Day at Mr. Pistorius' Pretoria home. The sprinter, who had been hailed as a hero in his native South Africa after he became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics in 2012, has been charged with her murder.

Mr. Pistorius has said he mistook his girlfriend of three months for an intruder and shot her through a locked bathroom door. He said he was not wearing his prosthetic legs when he shot her, and so was only standing on his stumps.

Blood is pooled inside the bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was shot, and drops are scattered on walls, stairs and a sofa, leaving a macabre trail tracing Pistorius' journey as he carried her lifeless body downstairs.

Police tape is seen marking two bullet holes below the doorknob at Mr. Pistorius' upscale Pretoria home, and a missing door panel.

It is not clear if the images, which were originally leaked to Sky News, are official police photographs. They also appear to show police bootprints among the blood.

He claimed he battered through the door with a cricket bat. The prosecution argues her death was premeditated.

He will appear next week in a Pretoria court for a hearing that is likely to end in a postponement. South African officials have said the police investigation will not be completed until August.

This is where Pistorius carried Steenkamp's body down the stairs, according to Sky News.

A spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority said they would not comment on the photographs as the case was still before the court. A police spokesman was quoted in The Times as saying that the photographs were a "deliberate tactic" that investigators did not want to be distracted by.

Representatives from Mr. Pistorius' family and legal team could not be immediately reached.

Brian Webber, one of Mr. Pistorius's lawyers, told South Africa's Eyewitness News that the images were "very distressing", adding that the defence had requested the images five times but that this was the first time they had seen them.

                   

Mr. Pistorius has said he and Steenkamp had a serious relationship and were deeply in love. One of the photos, which stands out for its absence of blood, appears to show an envelope and a bag of pink, heart-shaped candies.

The envelope is addressed to "Ozzy" - Steenkamp's nickname for Pistorius - in what appears to be her handwriting.