Oscar Pistorius has been indicted on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition for the shooting death of the double-amputee Olympian’s girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
A Pretoria court on Monday set March 3 as the trial date for Pistorius, who says he shot Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, believing she was an intruder in his home. Prosecutors say he killed her after an argument. The prosecution submitted a list of more than 100 witnesses.
Pistorius was in court for the indictment, and was seen crying and holding hands with his siblings before proceedings started.
He faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.
JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic and Olympic track star, was expected to be formally indicted on Monday when he returned to court in South Africa to face charges of murdering his girlfriend in a case that seized headlines last February when he admitted opening fire, saying he believed he was shooting an intruder at his upscale home.
Mr. Pistorius last appeared in court for a procedural hearing in June, when the National Prosecuting Authority said it expected to prepare an indictment. The full trial is expected to begin early next year.
Since the shooting in the early hours of Feb. 14, Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee and competitive runner, has denied the prosecution’s charge of premeditated murder.
According to lawyers from both sides, Mr. Pistorius’s girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, was shot and killed in a locked bathroom at his home in a gated compound in Pretoria, the South African capital.
Defense lawyers have depicted the shooting as a tragic accident in which Mr. Pistorius, 26, believed that an intruder had entered his home. Ms. Steenkamp, 29, a model and a law school graduate, was spending the night there. According to defense testimony, Mr. Pistorius opened fire through a locked bathroom door, not realizing that Ms. Steenkamp was on the other side. She was hit by at least three bullets.
Before the shooting, Mr. Pistorius and Ms. Steenkamp were depicted as a gilded couple, featured in celebrity news coverage.
News reports in South Africa over the weekend said Mr. Pistorius may also face new charges on Monday of recklessly firing a weapon in public related to accusations that he discharged a weapon in a restaurant in January and fired a gun from a car while driving home from a vacation. Those reports have not been confirmed by the defense or the prosecution.
Mr. Pistorius, nicknamed the Blade Runner for the prosthetics he uses to compete, had a reputation for his outsized triumphs, not just against other disabled athletes but against able-bodied competitors.
He won two gold medals and a silver at last September’s Paralympic Games in London. In the 2012 Olympics the month before, he reached the 400-meter semifinal and competed in the 4×400-meter relay.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Johannesburg and Alan Cowell from London.
The lead investigator in Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial is taken off the case after it emerged he was facing attempted murder charges, as prosecutors argue in court to deny the athlete bail. Malini Wilkes reports.
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