Photographs purportedly showing the blood-spattered bathroom where Olympian Oscar Pistorius fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp have emerged, apparently showing the scene of the killing for the first time.

The photos surfaced just days before the double amputee track star is due to appear in court, charged with murdering Steenkamp in his Pretoria home in the early hours of February 14. The images published by Sky News show a trail of blood leading from a bathroom; blood on the walls, stairs and a couch inside the house, and a Valentine’s Day card with “Ozzy” written on it – Steenkamp’s nickname for her sprinter boyfriend.

Oscar Pistorius Crime Scene Oscar-Pistorius-crime-scene-photos-emerge (2)

The photo of the bathroom shows a toilet covered in blood, a door with a missing panel and what appear to be two police-marked bullet holes below the level of the door’s handle. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the photos, and police spokesman Brigadiere Phuti Setati declined to comment on how Sky News obtained the pictures.

The runner says he thought there was an intruder in the house and, fearful of being attacked, ran on his stumps to the bathroom, where he shot through the door from a relatively low angle four times. It was only upon returning to his bedroom, Pistorius says, that he realized Steenkamp was not in bed and that she had been the one in the bathroom.

Oscar-Pistorius-crime-scene-photos-emerge (1)

The state says it was premeditated murder — that Pistorius had an argument with Steenkamp then put on his prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom, and shot through the door from a relatively higher angle, intentionally killing his girlfriend.

(Source)