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Johannesburg - Oscar Pistorius had a nine-minute conversation with his ex-girlfriend hours before he killed Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home last year, according to a report.
Eyewitness News revealed on Thursday that Pistorius was talking to ex-girlfriend Jenna Edkins shortly before he arrived home at about 18:00 on 13 February last year. However, the police did not uncover this piece of evidence and it did not form part of his trial.
Edkins showed her support for Pistorius following the shooting, tweeting the next day that he had never "lifted a finger to me, made me fear for my life".
Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide in the North Gauteng High Court on 12 September. He will return to court on 13 October for sentencing.
EWN reporters Barry Bateman and Mandy Wiener uncovered the information while researching a book about the shooting. They traced the number to Edkins but it appears police did not uncover this potential piece of evidence and she was never questioned.
Meanwhile, Bateman tweeted that Pistorius's phone's call history and WhatsApp records were deleted, including several messages received after the shooting.
On Wednesday night, Pistorius's family and legal team released a statement apparently trying to forestall the pending news report.
"We are not sure of the allegations which are to be made or the source of such allegations, but we are not aware of any deletions having been affected by Oscar or effected on his instructions that could be relevant to this trial or could have impacted on this trial," they said.
Another ex-girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, gave evidence during Pistorius's trial in March, saying there was "a lot of commotion" in her relationship with Pistorius.
Taylor told British newspaper The Mirror in September that she once hid his gun because she was terrified of Pistorius and feared he'd kill her. She said she had bruises and scars after Pistorius had bit and pinched her during their 18-month relationship, and that he was angry and possessive.
Taylor's mother has written a book about their relationship, Oscar: An Accident Waiting to Happen, described as a "story of how a teenage girl's romance turned into every mother's worst nightmare".
#OscarPistorius handset’s entire call history and WhatsApp record was deleted, as well as several messages received after the shooting. BB
— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) October 2, 2014#OscarPistorius in her ruling, Judge Masipa did not take into account any of the evidence obtained from cellphones data. BB
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 2, 2014#OscarPistorius defence source dismissed Babyshoes / Edkins call as the “smoking gun”. BB
— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) October 2, 2014#OscarPistorius Exclusive - #EWN has identified evidence police missed in their investigation into the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp. BB
— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) October 2, 2014I would just like to say , I have dated Oscar on off for 5 YEARS, NOT ONCE has he EVER lifted a finger to me , made me fear for my life..
— Jenna Edkins (@JennaEdkins) February 15, 2013
