New Focus in Pistorius Case: Bloody Bat

The case against Oscar Pistorius darkens: Police are now investigating a bloodied cricket bat recovered from the Olympian's house, reports South Africa's City Press. Cops theorize that Pistorius may have used the bat to bludgeon girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp—in addition to her bullet wounds, her skull was apparently crushed—or to break down the door to the bathroom where she was hiding. Another possibility is that Steenkamp used the bat in self-defense, but Pistorius' claim that he mistook her for a burglar is fast looking unlikely. “There was lots of blood on the bat. Forensic tests will show whose blood it was,” a source tells the paper. Other details from the report:

• Sources say that police have a "rock solid" case against Pistorius. “He could possibly get a 20-year sentence instead of life if he pleads guilty," says a criminal lawyer.
• Police found Steenkamp's overnight bag and iPad in Pistorius' bedroom. “It was clear that both of them had slept in the bed,” a police source says.
• Looking for evidence of "'roid rage," police had Pistorius' blood tested.
• Steenkamp's father, Barry Steenkamp, tells the Sunday Mail he and his wife are heartbroken, but that Pistorius "must be going through things that we don’t know about. There is no hatred in our hearts . ... We ask the Lord every day to help us find a reason why this should happen to Reeva."

(More Oscar Pistorius stories.)