Oscar Pistorius arrived at the Pretoria Magistrates Court in South Africa this morning charged with the murder of his girlfriend
after she was shot dead at his home.
The Olympic and Paralympic star was taken into custody yesterday over the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, 30. She was shot in the head and upper body.
Pistorius had initially been expected to appear in court yesterday but National Prosecuting Authority officials said the hearing at Pretoria Magistrates’ Court had been postponed. The court is due to open at 7am GMT.
According to reports, the model may have been mistaken for a burglar, but Brigadier Denise Beukes later said police were ‘very surprised’ by that suggestion, adding: ‘These allegations did not come from us.’
There had been previous incidents of a ‘domestic nature’ at the property on the exclusive, gated Silver Lakes Golf Estate in the South African capital Pretoria, she added. A 9mm pistol was recovered and, according to unconfirmed reports, four shots were fired.
Police spokeswoman Lt Col Katlego Mogale said: ‘Paramedics declared the woman dead on the scene and police proceeded with their investigation.
‘The woman sustained wounds to her head and the upper body.’
Police said an application for bail by Pistorius’s lawyer Kenny Oldwage would be opposed when he appears in court.
Early news reports here that Mr. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had accidentally shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder, gave way to grim police news conferences announcing previous law enforcement complaints about domestic episodes at his home and the charge of murder. The development stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius as an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa’s ability to achieve on the world stage.