Pistorius says 'forgotten' password of 'encrypted' WhatsApp messages on iPhone

Paralympic sprinting star Oscar Pistorius has reportedly claimed that he cannot remember the password to help the detectives, investigating the murder case of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, see encrypted messages on his iPhone.

Pistorius' lawyer has said that his client will go on trial in March next year, from the first week until the end of the month.

According to the Daily Star, the South African athlete, who is accused of gunning down Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day in his Pretoria home, will appear in court on Monday, which would have been the model's 30th birthday.

A source at South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority said that although Pistorius told the detectives how to access his iPhone after months of pressure, he could not help them access the WhatsApp application on his phone, which had several encrypted messages of possible interest to the case.

The source further said that the Blade Runner claimed that he cannot remember a password for the messages or can translate them, adding that even WhatsApp's servers cannot identify the messages.

The report further said that detectives are keen to find out who Pistorius was in contact with before and on the night of Steenkamp's death, adding that they have established that the model's phone was switched off for most of the evening and that she had not been drinking.

Meanwhile, the report added that the detectives have also traced a possible witness living close to the scene of the shooting, who claimed that she heard a woman screaming in the hours before Steenkamp was shot.