Murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius’ family reportedly owns a total of 55 firearms, an Afrikaans weekend newspaper report revealed today.

The report says Pistorius’ father, three uncles and grandfather own 55 firearms between the five of them.

His father, Henke, has four firearms registered in his name, his  grandfather, Hendrik, has ten firearms in his name, his uncle, Arnold, also owns ten firearms, while another uncle, Theo, who is a  hunter, owns 17 firearms, and a third uncle, Leo, owns 14, reported the Afrikaans  newspaper.

Oscar Pistorius is facing a murder charge after shooting dead his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day.

Pistorius pleaded not guilty to the charges, he said he thought Reeva was an intruder.

He has since been released from custody a week ago on R1 million bail, an amount of R100 000 was paid immediately.

The case has made world headlines with international news channels carrying live broadcasts of Magistrate Desmond Nair’s bail application ruling.

Pistorius has also lost the support of international brand Nike, which pulled off its endorsement deal with the paralympian. Sunglass maker Oakley has also pulled out of sponsorship deals with Pistorius.

Meanwhile, a legal expert of the paper estimated that Pistorius’ legal costs during his week of detention probably amounted to approximately R1.2 million.

“And this is only the beginning. Until his next court appearance, consultations will continuously take place. Then his trial starts, which will make the current bill look small,” said law professor Tom Coetzee.

For more details go to http://www.sabc.co.za