Lead detective in Pistorius case goes to Apple to retrieve messages on dead girlfriend's iPhone

A report by the Telegraph said that the detective who is leading the probe on Oscar Pistorius regarding the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was sent to the Cupertino, California headquarters of Apple Inc in the hopes that the South African Police Service could access the iPhone found at the scene of the crime. Authorities in South Africa has been stumped with regard to retrieving the text and Whatsapp messages on the iPhone 5 model reportedly found just outside the lavatory where Steenkamp was shot by Pistorius on Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius, who is the primary suspect to Steenkamp 's alleged murder, said that he no longer has knowledge of the passcode needed to access the phone. The Telegraph said that the messages in the phone could either rebuff or confirm Pistorius' account of the night he shot his late girlfriend.

South African authorities earlier this month accused the US Federal Bureau for stalling their investigation as the latter delayed the authorization needed for Apple to provide the information they need for the murder investigation, the UK newspaper said. It has been said that the decision to pursue potential evidence in the US could mean that the state case against Pistorius was not strong enough or that the state needed decisive evidence to convict the Paralympian.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube confirmed the trip of three senior police officers, which include Lt Gen Vineshkumar Moonoo and Captain Francois Moller, to the US. He said, "We have sent officials who are meeting with Apple today with the purpose of unlocking an iPhone. We followed the mutual legal assistance processes. With or without this evidence, the trial will still continue on Monday and we feel that we have more than enough evidence regardless, but any evidence we can lay our hands on is critical."

The three officers are expected to return on Sunday, one day before the high-profile trial will be heard at Pretoria's high court, the Telegraph said.

Tags

Oscar Pistorius Trial, Osca Pistorius evidence, Apple Inc, US FBI

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