Police are probing whether the bat was used to assault Steenkamp, who was shot four times, including in the head, during the early hours of Thursday, or if she may have used it to defend herself, the newspaper said.

"The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and hid herself in the toilet... He fired three more shots," the police source told City Press. Authorities have rejected suggestions that Pistorius mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and on Sunday police spokesman Neville Malila refused to comment on the reports of the cricket bat. "I dont know where they got it from, but they didn't get it from any official source in the police," Malila told AFP. The newspaper described the case against Pistorius as "rock-solid". Other reports suggested there had been an altercation between the two lovers that had spilled over from Wednesday night, when neighbours called security guards complaining about a "commotion" inside the Pistorius home. The British Sunday People said a sobbing Pistorius had phoned his friend, Justin Divaris around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) on Thursday telling him "My baba, I've killed my baba (baby in Afrikaans). God take me away." Pistorius was a national icon who inspired people around the world when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympic Games last year. His bail hearing on Tuesday will come the same day a funeral will be held for his slain girlfriend. He faces a life sentence if convicted of premeditated murder. More (AFP) AT AT 02180928 NNNN