Oscar Pistorius: I was more into Reeva Steenkamp than she was me

The Custodian April 8, 2014

Oscar Pistorius told the court at his trial Tuesday that he was “more into” the girlfriend he’s accused of murdering, Reeva Steenkamp, than she was into him.

In his second day of testimony the double-amputee runner known as the Blade Runner delved deeper into his relationship with the girlfriend he shot dead more than a year ago — and he is expected to explain what happened the night she died.

“If anything I was more into her at times than she was with me … I was besotted with her,” he told the court in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius has cried, covered his face and plugged his ears, and thrown up repeatedly as earlier witnesses have talked about how Steenkamp suffered, so the moment when Pistorius is forced to discuss the killing himself could be dramatic.

Steenkamp’s mother, June, was again present in court Tuesday but betrayed no reaction as she listened to hear his testimony.

The couple met on November 4, 2012, Pistorius said, a little more than three months before she died.

Defense lawyer Barry Roux took Pistorius through some of the texts and chat messages exchanged between the couple, as he sought to show that theirs was a loving relationship.

Some of the messages, including ones in which Steenkamp voiced unhappiness about Pistorius’ actions, formed part of the prosecution case heard last month. The prosecution contends that Pistorius, 27, intentionally shot Steenkamp, 29, after an argument early on February 14.

In one lengthy WhatsApp message previously cited in court, Steenkamp said,”I’m scared of you sometimes and how u snap at me and of how you will react to me.”

Pistorius sought to explain the background to the message Tuesday, saying it was sent on the day of their friend Darren Fresco’s engagement party.

“It was a bad day in our relationship,” he said. “I think I was just being sensitive, maybe I felt a bit insecure or jealous … I wasn’t kind to her like I should have been.”