South African Olympian Oscar Pictorius kills girlfriend

[AdelaideCate007]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/oscar-pistorius-shot-girlfriend-dead-report-20130214-2efj6.html

No matter the circumstances or what truly happened, I hope this brings to light some of the serious problems in South Africa. It's basically a society held hostage by violence.

Unless you've lived there, I'm not sure you can grasp how much fear and violence permeates through South Africa's culture and into everyday life, especially in cities like Johannesburg, Pretoria (where this happened), and Cape Town. There's very little respect for human life. Guns, rape, murder, and violence is just an everyday thing.

To put it all in perceptive a bit, most well off people in somewhere like Johannesburg live in houses or flats that have elaborate alarm systems with panic buttons in every room and codes to not only get into the gate or building but codes to gets into the house or flat. Buildings and fancy neighbourhoods will most certainly have armed guards that will shoot suspicious people on site.

A crime in America that would be like "Oh we're going to break in and take your telly and silver" in South Africa is more like "We're going to break in and rape you, kill you, and take all your stuff". You're basically forced to have a gun for everyday survival.

I wouldn't be surprised if he killed her thinking she was an intruder, but then, It wouldn't surprise me if it was a domestic dispute and the first thing he went to was violence. That's just the culture there.

The whole situation is just very sad for me. I lived in South Africa as a child, spent many holidays there, and a lot of my family still lives there.

[Soapsuds]

I was shocked at the news this morning. I rooted for him in the Olympics and to think he shot his gf to death.....totally shocked.

[AdelaideCate007]

I'm shocked just because he's a well known person. I'm not really shocked that something like this happened there (whether it be a domestic violence situation or him thinking she was an intruder). Like I said- this is just a common event in South Africa.

[DRW50]

I'm sorry to hear this.

[AdelaideCate007]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/15/world/africa/south-africa-pistorius-court/index.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/15/opinion/ghitis-pistorious-women-violence/?hpt=hp_t4

And here's another story that highlights some of the problems and the violence that plagues South Africa:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/world/africa/south-africa-gang-rape

A quote from the article to think about: "It's the kind of story that happens too often in South Africa, where a provincial official said violence against females is "systemic." Some 71% of women report having been victims of sexual abuse, the government notes."

[Angela]

TMZ

[ChitHappens]

Murderer!

[Soapsuds]

This is so shocking....cant believe he would do this...

[quartermainefan]

I have been following the bail hearing via live tweets from reporters in the courtroom and his story is compelling but tough to believe. The bathroom door was locked, if she was his girlfriend deeply in love why would she have bothered to lock the bathroom door? I think this is a case of temporary insanity and he truly wishes this never happened.