Oscar Pistorius at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Photo: AFP
The high-speed clicking of cameras was the first indication today that paralympic running star Oscar Pistorius, accused of premeditated murder, had entered the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
On February 14, 2013, he fired four shots through a bathroom door in his Pretoria home and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He claims he mistook her for a burglar and acted in self-defence. Today would have been her 30th birthday.
Journalists packed the tiny courtroom on Monday, while a live screening of the proceedings was set up in the adjacent courtroom.
Pistorius cut a lonely figure in his blue shirt and dark suit. After entering the dock at 9.15am, he sat with his head bowed as his sister, Aimee, and brother, Carl, talked to him and prayed with him.
He asked Pistorius if he was well, to which he replied softly: “I’m OK under the circumstances, your honour.”
Gerrie Nel, the lead prosecuting officer in the case, said: “The matter should now be transferred to the high court. We have arranged the date; from March 3 to March 20 (2014)… The accused has indicated that he will arrange for his own defence and his own witnesses if there is a need.”
Steenkamp’s family were not in court on Monday. The family is in her hometown of Port Elizabeth where it is believed they were celebrating her birthday.
“We will be doing something casual, baking a cake for her, being together as a family. We certainly won’t be watching the trial. We will be thinking about her,” Reeva’s uncle, Mike Steenkamp, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. – Reuters / Sapa
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