Forensic investigator Johannes Vermeulen, with a cricket bat in hand. Photo / AP
Forensic investigator Johannes Vermeulen, with a cricket bat in hand. Photo / AP
• Athelete claims he accidentally shot Reeva after mistaking her for intruder • Forensic experts now claim injuries on her back match the tip of cricket bat • Marks on ripped and twisted handle also suggest struggle between couple • Backs up prosecution case he shot her in fit of rage during a violent row
Dramatic new evidence emerged today that claims to show Oscar Pistorius attacked his lover with a cricket bat before shooting her dead.
The Paralympian told his trial that he accidentally killed Reeva Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder who was lurking in his toilet.
But forensic experts now believe two injuries on the model's back match the tip of the bat.
Marks on the ripped and twisted handle also suggest there was a struggle between the pair.
The claims have been made by brothers Calvin and Thomas Mollett in new book Oscar vs The Truth after studying evidence and conducting their own tests, it was reported by The Sun.
If confirmed, it would cement the prosecution's case that Pistorius gunned down Miss Steenkamp during a late-night row after she had locked herself in the toilet cubicle.
The athlete claimed he fired four times through the closed door in self-defence fearing a burglar was about to jump out at him.
Oscar Pistorius faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced June. Photo / AP
He told his trial that when he realised it was his girlfriend, he used the cricket bat to smash down the door to try to save her.
Pistorius was cleared of murdering Miss Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria, South Africa on Valentine's Day 2013, but found guilty of manslaughter.
However, his conviction was upgraded to murder after an appeal by the prosecution.
He faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced June.
Pistorius is expected to argue for a lesser sentence.
He has already spent one year in the hospital wing of Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria.
Pistorius is currently serving the remainder of his five-year manslaughter sentence under house arrest and he stays at his uncle's home in Pretoria.
He was cheered by his supporters, most of whom were dressed in white, when he left the court earlier this week for a hearing and navigated his way through a scrum of reporters.
A leader of the supporters, Don Hassett, appealed for a lenient sentence for Pistorius.
'He knows it was wrong and he has admitted that but the media has generated hatred against Oscar,' Mr Hasset told reporters.
