Witness Kevin Lerena, a boxer by profession, told the high court in Pretoria that Oscar Pistorius had asked a friend to admit killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to avoid media focus. Lerena's revelation in court about the details of Steenkamp's death in the early hours of Valentine's Day at Pistorius' home had raised questions about the insistence of the Paralympian that he accidentally shot the model, Chron said in its online report. Prosecutors had insisted that Steenkamp was killed after she and the athlete had a loud argument.
Lerena's testimony was shown in live broadcast after agreeing to be filmed for television. Witnesses in the Pistorius trial were given the option to opt out of getting filmed by media cameras to preserve the integrity of their statements and the fairness of the trial's proceedings, Chron said.
Lerena said that the conversation Pistorius had with his friend happened at the swanky Tashas restaurant located in the Melrose Arch area of Johannesburg in January last year. The testimony was in relation to one of three firearms-related charges slapped against Pistorius, aside from the murder charge, Chron said. Pistorius had submitted a not guilty plea to all four charges filed against him.
Lerena said that while at the restaurant, another friend of Pistrious, Darren Fresco, passed his gun to the athlete discreetly under the table and was heard saying that a bullet was in the gun's chamber. Afterwards, Lerena said that the gun was fired, leaving the part of the floor near Lerena's floor chipped with a bullet hole. Prior to the restaurant manager approaching the group's table, Pistorius told Fresco to take the blame. The group paid the bill afterwards and did not discuss the incident further.
Lerena also told the court that two days following the fatal incident with Steenkamp, he said he received over a hundred missed calls from the media regarding the fatal shooting at Pistorius' home.
