Oscar Pistorius ‘ legal odyssey has begun.
The history-making double-amputee sprinter dubbed “Blade Runner” appeared in court Friday in Pretoria, where he was officially charged with one count of murder in the fatal shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The 26-year-old South African sprinter broke down in tears as the charge was read, burying his face in his hands.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, said they would seek to prove that Steenkamp’s murder had been premeditated.
Local police, however, remain skeptical of that claim, citing “previous allegations of a domestic nature.”
Pistorius had been open about his affinity for guns. In an interview last year with The New York Times, he recounted how a false security alarm at home had prompted him to grab his gun—an incident echoed in an eerie tweet he wrote in which he described going into “full combat recon mode” after mistakenly thinking an intruder had broken into his house.
Pistorius is currently locked up at a police station in Pretoria, and a magistrate has set his bail hearing for Tuesday and Wednesday.
by Alexis L. Loinaz
