Pistorius to sell luxury home where he killed Reeva
Oscar Pistorius says he is selling his Pretoria home where he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, to cover the cost of his lawyers.
South Africa’s most famous athlete has not lived at his luxury Pretoria home since he shot Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year.
Instead he has been living with his uncle and had planned for his home in the Silver Woods estate to remain sealed until after the trial for her murder.
But in a statement posted on the Paralympic star’s website, his lawyer said he had been forced to reconsider his decision and was putting his house up for sale.
His lawyer told Channel 4 News that the house will be put up for auction, with bids finalised by 14 April.
Pistorius, 27, is charged with premeditated murder and faces 25 years in prison. He denies the charge, and says the shooting was a terrible mistake – he thought his girlfriend, 29, was an intruder.
“It has become necessary to sell Mr Pistorius’s home in the Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria in order for him to raise the necessary funds to cover his increasing legal costs,” said Brian Webber, the lawyer handling the sale.
Pistorius’s lawyer confirmed to Channel 4 News journalist Debora Patta that Pistorius has no source of income at the moment.
His legal costs are reported to be £5,500 a day, which covers the fees for three lawyers along with expert witnesses. His chief defence lawyer, Barry Roux, charges an average of between £3,500 to £4,000 a day – though it is unknown whether he is charging his usual daily fee in this case. And in order to be released on bail last year he has already paid a bond of £73,000.
The athlete valued his luxury Pretoria home at £277,000 (R5m) during his bail hearing last year. However whether he can raise that sum for the house where Steenkamp was shot dead in the bathroom remains to be seen.
The prosecution initially said they would be calling 100 witnesses, and in the third week, fewer than 20 had taken to the stand. However Chief Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said on Wednesday he would only call another four or five before resting his case.
Nonetheless, the trial will extend over the initial set time of three weeks.
In his statement, Pistorius implied the delay was adding to his “increasing” costs: “Due to the delay in finalising the trial, the decision to urgently dispose of his single biggest asset, has had to be made”.
The double amputee runner was named the “fastest man on no legs” and transcended the world of disabled sport to become the first Paralympian to compete in the Olympics. Sponsorship deals with Nike and Oakley contributed to his reported his £300,000 a year salary. But Pistorius has not competed since 2012, and is footing the bill for own legal costs.
Other assets listed in his bail hearing include two houses in Pretoria and land in Langebaan, near Cape Town, worth £110,000.
Click on the numbers above to follow Pistorius’s account of what happened in the early hours of 14 February, 2013, based on his application for bail.