Oscar Pistorius: Olympics and Paralympics star due in court

BBC News online - 14 February 2013

Police revealed there had been previous incidents at the address

South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is due in court to face a murder charge after his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, was shot and killed at his home near Pretoria.

After spending a night in a police station, he is scheduled to appear at the magistrates court in the city.

There a decision will be taken on whether he should be granted bail.
Prosecutors will argue that Mr Pistorius should remain in custody.

The BBC's Andrew Harding, in Pretoria, says it is likely that some details of both the case against the 26-year-old, and his defence, will be revealed.

Oscar Pistorius

• Popularly known as "blade runner", he was born without a fibula in both legs
• Won a key legal battle in 2008, when athletics' governing body, the IAAF, allowed him to compete against able-bodied athletes
• Made history in London 2012 by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics
• Apologised after claiming that his rival, Brazilian Alan Oliveira, was wearing blades that were too long in the 2012 Paralympics 200m final

Forensic experts are expected to continue examining the house in the upmarket Silver Woods gated community on the outskirts of South Africa's administrative capital where Ms Steenkamp, 29, died.

Correspondents say the athlete's arrest has stunned the country where he is considered a national hero.

He made history in London last year when he became the first double-amputee track athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.

He is known as the "blade runner" because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he races in. He was born without a fibula in both legs and had his legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday.
Police were called to his home in the early hours of Thursday morning.

They found paramedics treating a 29-year-old woman with four gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. She died at the scene, and officers recovered a 9mm pistol.

Early reports suggested Mr Pistorius might have mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder.
Police say neighbours heard screaming and shouting around the time of the shooting, and that they had been called to investigate incidents of a domestic nature at the same house in the past.

Mr Pistorius dominated in his category at successive Paralympic Games, but in 2008 he won a legal battle over his blades - which critics said gave him an unfair advantage - with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the right to compete in able-bodied competitions.
He reached the 400m semi-finals in the London 2012 Olympics. At the Paralympics he won silver in the T44 200m, gold in the 4x100 relay and gold in the T44 400m, setting a Paralympic record.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of crime in the world and many residents keep weapons to protect themselves against intruders.
But gun ownership is strictly regulated and it is not easy to obtain a licence.