#OscarPistorius #puts #homeonsale to #paytrialcosts #Paralympians #lawyer #tellscourt #defendant has #notreturned to #house where he #shot #ReevaSteenkamp dead David Smith in Johannesburg The Guardian, Thursday 20 March 2014 18.44 GMT Oscar Pistorius arrives at court for his #murder trial, yesterday. Oscar Pistorius arrives at court for his murder trial, on Thursday. Photograph: Frans Sello Waga Machate/Demotix/Corbis Oscar Pistorius plans to sell the 5m rand (£277,000) house where he shot dead his girlfriend to cover spiralling legal fees for his murder trial, his lawyer said on Thursday. The Paralympian has not gone back to the house in a gated community in Pretoria since he killed Reeva Steenkamp in an upstairs bathroom last year. It has become necessary to sell Mr Pistoriuss home in the Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria in order for him to raise the necessary funds to cover his increasing legal costs, lawyer Brian Webber said. This is due to the unexpected extension of the trial beyond the initial three-week period for which it was originally set down. Pistorius, 27, has been funding his own defence since his arrest, Webber said. Due to the delay in finalising the trial, the decision to urgently dispose of his single biggest asset has had to be made. Mr Pistorius has never returned to his home in Silver Woods since the tragedy of 14 February 2013. Mr Pistorius cannot contemplate ever returning to live there again. In the statement designed to pre-empt speculation in the public and the media, Webber added: Despite the fact that the house was handed back to Mr Pistorius by the authorities more than a year ago, a decision was taken to keep the house sealed until after the trial. He has been forced to revisit this decision due to the reasons outlined in this statement. Estate agent Ansie Louw, who is handling the sale, told AFP that the house will be sold in a closed auction, starting at 5m rand. Such a price tag is likely to deter ghouls and opportunists. Pistorius denies the murder of Steenkamp, 29, a model and law graduate. He protests his innocence, claiming that he mistook her for a burglar when he shot four times through a locked toilet door. During the trial the court has seen photos of the inside of the house with its minimalist design of white walls, brown stone tiled floors and steel balustrades. It has also heard evidence from neighbours who included a radiologist, university academic and IT designer. Pistoriuss defence costs are estimated at 150,000 to 200,000 rand (£8,301 to £11,068) a day for at least three full-time lawyers in court, plus ballistics and forensics experts and a US crime scene reconstruction company. Defence counsel Barry Roux is rumoured to be earning around 50,000 rand (£2,767) a day.Laurie James, a criminologist following the case, said: At 200,000 a day anyone would struggle to fund the defence. Even if he walks out exonerated, what sponsor is going to touch him in the future? What brand would want to make itself toxic? William Booth, a lawyer and commentator, said: It becomes ridiculous that legal fees are so high. Its beyond the ability of most people in South Africa to afford the legal team assembled here. Its an unreal scenario. Pistorius, who has lost a series of lucrative sponsorship deals since the tragedy, valued the house at 5m rand during his bail application in February last year. At the time he also owned two other houses with a value of 1.5m rand (£83,013) in Pretoria and a vacant plot worth 1.6m rand (£88,548) in Cape Town. All his properties together were worth 8.3m (£459,342) rand, he told the court. Since the shooting, Pistorius has been living at his uncle Arnolds house in Pretoria. Prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case early next week. The trial resumes on Monday. theguardian/sport/2014/mar/20/oscar-pistorius-home-sale-trial-costs
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 20:12:57 +0000
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