Police: No Inconsistencies in Pistorius Account

(AP/NECN: Justin Michaels) - A police detective in South Africa says authorities haven't found any inconsistencies in the account given by Oscar Pistorius regarding the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Pistorius -- the first double-amputee runner to compete at the Olympics -- says the shooting was an accident, and that he thought he was firing at a burglar. Prosecutors say it was premeditated murder.

At a hearing today, police said Pistorius is a flight risk, and should not be granted bail.

A prosecutor told the hearing that a witness heard "non-stop talking, like shouting" between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. before the pre-dawn shooting on Valentine's Day. Under cross-examination, a police detective acknowledged that the witness was 600 yards away.

The police detective testified that he believes Pistorius knew that girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was in the bathroom when he fired four shots through the door. When asked whether police found anything inconsistent with the version of events from Pistorius, he said they had not. But he said the trajectory of the bullets showed that the gun was fired pointed downward and from a height. Pistorius had said that he hadn't put on his artificial legs before opening fire.

The detective also said the holster for the pistol was found under the side of the bed on which Steenkamp slept -- implying that it would have been impossible for Pistorius to get the gun without realizing that she wasn't in bed and could have been the person in the bathroom.

NECN Reporter Justin Michaels has more in the attached video.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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