Track Star Charged in Killing:
Michael Sokolove, a writer who profiled Oscar Pistorius, discusses the dark turn for the South African runner.
JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend, appeared in tears at a courtroom in the South African capital Pretoria on Friday facing a single charge of murder.
Antoine De Ras/INLSA, via Associated Press
Oscar Pistorius on Friday broke down in court in Pretoria, South Africa.
Lucky Nxumalo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Pistorius was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Both the prosecution and the defense asked magistrate Desmond Nair for a postponement of the bail hearing and the case was adjourned until Tuesday.
As lawyers and court officials debated whether the hearing should be televised, Mr. Pistorius held his head in his hands and sobbed. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the prosecution would bring a charge of "premeditated murder."
Mr. Pistorius did not speak to enter a plea and he will remain in custody until the case resumes on Feb. 19.
The accusation against the man nicknamed the Blade Runner stunned a nation that had seen him as a national hero who had overcome the acute challenge of being born without fibula bones; had both legs amputated below the knee as an infant; and yet became the first Paralympic sprinter to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics in London last year.
Grim-faced and tired looking, Mr. Pistorius entered the court as news of events at his upmarket home in Pretoria eclipsed a State of the Nation address by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday evening and took up the front page headlines in many newspapers on Friday. “Golden Boy Loses Shine,” said one headline in The Sowetan.
The courtroom in Pretoria was packed and officials said no cameras would be allowed inside. Police officials have indicated that they will oppose an expected application for bail. Wearing a gray suit, Mr. Pistorius arrived for the hearing sitting in the back a police car, shielding his face.
Members of his family, also weeping, were in the courtroom when he appeared.
Early on Thursday morning, the police arrived at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated community in Pretoria to find his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 30, in a puddle of blood, dead from gunshot wounds. Before the day was out, Mr. Pistorius, 26, who ran on carbon-fiber blades that earned him his nickname, had been charged with murder.
Ms. Steenkamp was a model about to make her debut on a reality television show.
Early news reports said Mr. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. But police officers said that account came as a surprise to them. They also disclosed previous law enforcement complaints about domestic episodes at his home.
Mr. Pistorius 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 4x400-meter relay.
In the Paralympics, Mr. Pistorius won individual gold, successfully defending his 400-meter title. He had lost his 100- and 200-meter titles, but was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100-meter relay team. He came in second in the 200-meter race.
Oscar Pistorius, Facing Murder Charge, Breaks Down
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