Update on Pistorius (South African Athlete that killed his Girlfriend)

Sky News has obtained pictures inside the house of paralympian Oscar Pistorius - including images of the bloody bathroom where he shot his lover, Reeva Steenkamp. The pictures have emerged as allegations that police officers involved in the investigation are being questioned following the disappearance of one of the runner's watches from his house. This is the first time the public has seen the actual room where the athlete's model girlfriend was killed. The images show a panel missing from the toilet door - and two police markers below the handle which indicate bullet holes - low down. It is likely the defence will argue this backs up the runner's claims that he was on his stumps and shooting - from low down - at what he thought was an intruder. The athlete has always insisted he and Ms Steenkamp had had a quiet night in together at his house, which is in a secure compound in Pretoria. He says he got up in the early hours to bring in a fan from the balcony. But when he went back into the bedroom again, in the pitch dark, he says he heard a noise. He has already told the Pretoria Magistrates' Court during his previous bail application hearing in February that he immediately believed there was an intruder in the house. He says he grabbed a gun that he kept for security purposes in the bedroom and ran seven metres or so down the passageway leading to the bathroom, without his prosthetic legs on.

 The pictures inside the house show a trail of blood from the bathroom

There he fired four shots into the toilet door, which was closed. He insists it was only when he went back into the bedroom and realised his girlfriend was not in bed that it dawned on him it was her in the toilet. The couple had only been dating a few months when the shooting on Valentine's Day happened. But the world's best known paralympian insists he was deeply in love with Ms Steenkamp and her death was a horrible accident. When the athlete last appeared in court, he said when he realised his mistake he did everything to save his lover, battering the toilet door with a cricket bat to get to her. The pictures inside the house show a trail of blood from the bathroom as the paralympian carried Ms Steenkamp downstairs after shouting for help, with flecks of blood on the wall, on the sofa downstairs and on the landing.

The tape shows two bullet holes in the bathroom door

There is also an image of the gift that the model had wrapped up ready to give the athlete. Stuck on the top of it, is a card with just one word - Ozzy - her nickname for him. There is a container of heart-shaped sweets too. But the prosecution believes a very different version to the one presented by Oscar Pistorius. It maintains the athlete's girlfriend ran into the toilet after a row with the sportsman - and he deliberately targeted and shot her - having taken time to put on his prosthetic limbs beforehand. This act, the prosecution maintained at the bail hearing, was tantamount to pre-meditation.

Oscar Pistorius during his bail hearing

Other photographs show footprints in blood. The investigating policeman, Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, has already admitted he walked through the scene without wearing protective foot covers, potentially contaminating the evidence. Warrant Officer Botha was taken off the case after that emerged - as well as the news that he himself was facing seven counts of attempted murder. He has since retired from the police service.  Now, there are further allegations about the police conduct at the house. Two different sources have told Sky News that other officers are being investigated too after the disappearance of one of the athlete's watches from his house

Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day

The South African Police Service, when contacted by us, refused to comment. But the latest allegations will only add to the impression that the initial investigation into the killing of Reeva Steenkamp was not entirely above reproach.