Monday 19 August 2013

Oscar Pistorius Back In Court Over Killing



Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has arrived in court in South Africa.

He was surrounded by photographers as he entered Pretoria Magistrates' Court, and he arrived in the courtroom around five minutes later.

Sky's Alex Crawford said there was a tension in the courtroom with relatives and friends of Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp sitting alongside each other. 

Police in Pretoria have told Sky News they now have "everything they need" to present the case against him in court.

The 26-year-old double amputee is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp, who would have turned 30 today, in a shooting incident at Pistorius' home in February.

Prosecutors say Pistorius will be indicted on a main charge of premeditated murder.

Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

His trial is expected to start early next year, but the exact date will likely be set during today's court appearance.

The indictment papers served on Pistorius by the state mean the case will be sent to the High Court in Pretoria.

A judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the world-famous athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.

The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors have told The Associated Press that it is "possible" that additional charges could be added to the indictment.

But they declined to comment on South African media reports that Pistorius would face two other charges relating to recklessly discharging a firearm in a public place in two separate incidents.

The incidents - reportedly when Pistorius shot a gun out of the sunroof of a moving car and let one off accidentally in a restaurant - would seemingly show the prosecution's attempt to paint Pistorius as trigger-happy.

Meanwhile Ms Steenkamp's uncle has said he has already forgiven Pistorius for killing her.

Mike Steenkamp said the family have coped with her death by concentrating on her life rather than how she died.

In an interview on ITV's Daybreak, Mr Steenkamp said: "I think from the beginning and onset that we decided that we could never be sidetracked from Reeva's life, and I think that's helped us tremendously.

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