STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Prosecutors say they worry Oscar Pistorius will flee, if freed on bail
- Pistorius has pledged to stay in South Africa and fight the charges
- He is accused of the premeditated murder of his model girlfriend
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- A South African judge will likely decide Friday whether to release track star Oscar Pistorius following a bail hearing jolted by the revelation that the lead police investigator in the case faces attempted murder charges.
The allegations were the latest blow to a prosecution case that has suffered through several miscues during the bail hearing that began Tuesday, including admissions that police could have contaminated the crime scene and failed to properly catalog evidence.
The South African Police Service pulled Hilton Botha from the case Thursday after prosecutors reinstated seven counts of attempted murder charges against him. Botha is accused of opening fire on a minibus full of people while drunk in 2011.
Prosecutors are trying to keep Pistorius jailed pending his trial on a charge of premeditated murder in the February 14 shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, 29.
Pistorius, 26, is accused of the premeditated murder of Steenkamp after, according to prosecutors, a heated argument in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day.
The sprinter, however, says he thought an intruder was hiding in a toilet room inside the bathroom of his Pretoria home. He says he fired into the room in a fit of terror before realizing Steenkamp was inside.
Prosecutors say they are worried Pistorius will flee the country, if he's released. Pistorius has pledged to stay in South Africa and fight the charges if released, adding that he's unlikely to escape notice as a well-known athlete who walks on prosthetic legs.
Prosecution miscues?
Court officials learned Thursday that prosecutors had restored the charges against Botha in connection with the 2011 shooting case. The charges had previously been withdrawn for additional investigation, but prosecutors decided Wednesday to proceed, said Commissioner Riah Phiyega of the South African Police Service.
Phiyega praised Botha, saying he is an experienced investigator who "has presented the case of the police well."
Botha was replaced by the department's most senior detective, Vinesh Moonoo, in a move Phiyega said positioned the department for a "long-haul" investigation of Steenkamp's killing.
During the bail hearing, being held in a dark, stuffy Pretoria courtroom, defense attorney Barry Roux hammered away at the credibility of Botha and the entire police investigation.
He argued police had missed a bullet in the toilet of the bathroom where Steenkamp was shot and may have contaminated the crime scene by failing to wear protective foot covers.
Botha told Roux that investigators didn't wear the booties because they'd run out.
Bulelwa Makeke, the spokeswoman for South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, said before the announcement of Botha's removal that the accusations against the investigator would be little more than a "speed bump" in the Pistorius case.
Positioning the prosecution
In arguments wrapping up during Thursday's session, Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius' defense team has failed to explain why investigators found two cell phones and the gun believed to have been used in the shooting in front of the shower.
That goes to the prosecution claim that Steenkamp didn't merely get up to relieve herself in the middle of the night, but in fact had locked herself in the bathroom with her cell phone to protect herself from Pistorius.
Roux, meanwhile, got Botha to acknowledge during the hearing that investigators had failed to collect any evidence that counters Pistorius' argument that he mistakenly shot Steenkamp.
Roux told Magistrate Desmond Nair that the prosecution's case had suffered a monumental collapse.
The defense attorney also questioned police claims that a witness who lived at least 300 meters (328 yards) from Pistorius' home had heard a raging argument coming from the home.
He also said officers had failed to properly investigate and catalog evidence found there, including ammunition and a bottle of what Botha first called testosterone before backtracking.
Roux said the substance is an herbal remedy.
Ballistic evidence
Authorities have argued that ballistic evidence shows Pistorius had to intentionally target the toilet to strike Steenkamp, and he was standing on his prosthetic legs when he shot through the bathroom door.
Pistorius said in his statement that when he shot through the door, he was feeling vulnerable to an intruder because he was not wearing his legs and had limited mobility.
When Pistorius was 11 months old, his legs were amputated below the knees because he was missing the fibulae.
He runs on special carbon fiber blades, earning the nickname "Blade Runner."
He made history last year as the first disabled athlete to compete in the able-bodied London Games. A few weeks after the Olympics, he smashed a record to win the men's 400-meter in the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Robyn Curnow reported from Pretoria, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Michael Pearson and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.
Prosecution is dealt blow as judge weighs bail for Pistorius
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Prosecution is dealt blow as judge weighs bail for Pistorius
