The Pistorius brothers Oscar and Carl (pictured above) are in the middle of a media frenzy that looks set to keep the public intrigued for a long time to come. Carl Pistorius is allegedly responsible for the death of a motorcyclist. – image – m24digital.com
The Carl Pistorius case has also made headlines both locally and internationally. This is largely due to the media and activity on social networks. But more than anything, Carl’s relationship to Oscar cannot be denied as a major contributing factor to the chaos. Carl and Oscar Pistorius are brothers who have been dealt a rather bad hand. The courts have yet to decide who is responsible for the situations in which the brothers find themselves. They both face serious criminal charges after two women died at their hands in two separate incidents.
Oscar Pistorius stands accused of killing Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February this year. The state intends to prove that the death of Reeva was a premeditated murder and not an accident as Oscar has said. Oscar appears in court to contest his bail conditions this Thursday. The defence team is of the opinion that the court has set unreasonably strict bail conditions for the paralympian.
Twitter was abuzz while Carl Pistorius sat before magistrate Buks du Plessis in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court today. News24 confirmed that the application submitted by the SABC to broadcast the court proceedings had been denied. However, the magistrate did make provision for the presiding officer in the case to announce a different ruling should the presiding officer see it fit to do so in the future. Magistrate du Plessis warned that the court should avoid being dragged into the sensational media and public hype that exists around the Oscar Pistorius case.
Reports by News24 indicate that Marietje Barnard died six days after the motorcycle she was riding on was hit by a car driven by Carl Pistorius. The accident happened on 8 March 2008 and almost a week later, Barnard died due to complications arising from her injuries.
The National Prosecuting Authority had initially dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence. Last year in March, Carl Pistorius was arrested when the results of Barnard’s post-mortem were revealed.
Kenny Oldwage is the Pistorius family laywer and as such, he represents both brothers in their respective cases. He insists that “there is no doubt that Carl is not guilty” as blood samples taken shortly after the accident prove that Carl was not under the influence of alcohol when the accident happened.
In a coincidence that is hard to ignore, the Barnard family in the Carl case has been just as quiet as the Steenkamp family has been in the Oscar case.
