Hilton Botha, the lead detective in the Oscar Pistorius murder case of Reeva Steenkamp, is facing seven charges of attempted murder himself.
Years ago, Botha was chasing a man that murdered his girlfriend. South African police told media that Botha shot at a moving minivan with passengers inside. He was trying to stop the minivan.
Botha was charged in 2009, the charges were withdrawn, and the case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), according to local media. Botha’s case was reinstated on Feb. 4, 10 days before Pistorius shot his girlfriend.
“The decision to reinstate was taken on February 4, way before the issue of Pistorius came to light or the murder of Reeva was committed,” NPA spokesman Medupe Simasiku told Reuters. “It’s completely unrelated to this trial.”
The DPP told the police of Botha’s charges on Feb. 20. Botha is still on the case and the police said that they have not decided yet if he will remain detective in the Pistorius case.
Reporter, Nastasya Tay @NastasyaTay, tweeted from inside the courtroom at 2:20 p.m. local time, “#OscarPistorius‘ defence Roux says they’ll be challenging Botha’s credibility as a witness. No surprises there.”
“South African Police Service to hold a news conference in two hours on the #OscarPistorius case & Botha debacle,” she tweeted at 2:20 p.m. local time (7:20 a.m. EST).
