The lead investigator in the case building against Oscar Pistorius has a secret of his own: he’s facing attempted murder charges. Hilton Botha is facing charges stemming from a 2011 shooting, which were reinstated after he testified at Pistorius’s bail hearing.
Botha testified for the prosecution, admitting that police have no evidence to support claims opposite of Pistorius’s account. The Paralympic champion alleges to have shot girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, believing that she was a burglar.
Since learning of Botha’s past, another investigator has been assigned to the case. National commissioner Riah Phiyega announced that Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo has been named the new lead of the case, promising that he will “gather a team of highly skilled and experienced detectives.”
Botha, the lead investigator, conceded Wednesday that police had left a 9 mm slug in the toilet where Steenkamp died, had lost track of illegal ammunition found in the home and that Botha himself had walked through the scene without protective shoe covers, possibly contaminating the area.
Botha’s often confused testimony left prosecutors rubbing their heads in frustration as he misjudged distances and said testosterone — banned for professional athletes in some cases — was found at the scene, only to be later contradicted by the prosecutor’s office.
As a judge is set to decide whether or not the 26-year-old will be granted bail, the prosecution is having trouble making Pistorius look like a flight risk. Their case against the Olympian is also falling apart being that police could have mishandled the investigation, coming to conclusions without evidence to back up their claims.
Pistorius has been in jail since the shooting, occurring on Valentine’s Day morning.
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Photo: AP
