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Pistorius Family Disputes Murder Charge Pistorius Family Disputes Murder Charge
(about 1 hour later)
JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend, appeared at a courtroom in the South African capital Pretoria on Friday, sobbing openly and facing a single charge of murder, which his associates and family later said was “disputed.” JOHANNESBURG — The prosecution in the case against Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend, said it planned to charge him with “premeditated murder,” the most serious murder charge under South African criminal law, as Mr. Pistorius made a tearful appearance at a courtroom in the South African capital, Pretoria, on Friday.
In a first public response to the accusation, Mr. Pistorius’s family and management team said in a statement that “the alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms,” news reports said. Dressed in a gray suit and a blue shirt, Mr. Pistorius struggled to maintain his composure. He repeatedly wept, at times sobbing and holding his face in his hands. Mr. Pistorius did not speak or enter a plea. But later on Friday a statement released by his agent said that he disputed the murder charge “in the strongest terms,” and that “our thoughts and prayers today should be” for the victim, Reeva Steenkamp, and her family “regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
The statement also said Mr. Pistorius “would like to send his deepest sympathies to the family” of Reeva Steenkamp, a 30-year-old model whose body was found in a puddle of blood early Thursday at the athlete’s upmarket home in a gated compound in Pretoria. The defense asked the magistrate, Desmond Nair, for a postponement of the bail hearing and the case was adjourned until Tuesday. Mr. Pistorius was sent to a Pretoria police station, where he will remain in custody until his next court appearance.
Mr. Pistorius did not enter a formal plea when he appeared in a packed courtroom for a bail hearing before the statement was issued. If convicted, Mr. Pistorius faces a mandatory life sentence, though under South African law he would be eligible for parole in 25 years at the latest. South Africa abolished the death penalty in 1995.
The defense asked magistrate Desmond Nair for a postponement and the case was adjourned until Tuesday. Mr. Pistorius remained in custody and will be held in a police station. 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. He had both legs amputated below the knee as an infant, and yet still became the first Paralympic sprinter to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics in London last year.
As lawyers and court officials debated whether the hearing should be televised, and at several other moments in the brief hearing, Mr. Pistorius cradled his head in his hands and wept. Grim-faced and tired looking, Mr. Pistorius entered the court as the 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. “Oscar’s Bloody Valentine,” blared the front page of The Daily Sun, a tabloid.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the prosecution would bring a charge of "premeditated murder." 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. In editorials, Newspapers urged against a rush to judgment.
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. “It will be up to a judge to decide if there was any criminal culpability,” said an editorial in the Times, a national daily. “Until then, innocence needs to be presumed.”
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. Justice Malala, a columnist and political analyst, wrote in an opinion column in The Guardian that “In a country of very few heroes, particularly those who transcend the always-present color line, we do not want them to flicker and die.” But, he added, “Now he is fallen, and we are lost.”
For others, Ms. Steenkamp’s death was a grim reminder of the violence that pervades South African life. The South African Institute of Race Relations pointed out that Ms. Steenkamp is just one of the 2,500 women murdered in South Africa every year. Gun control advocates said they hoped her death would lead to a further tightening of gun ownership rules.
An impassioned editorial in the Star, another national daily newspaper, said that “The true tragedy of our country is that the abnormal is becoming the normal. Violent crime has transcended and redefined the benchmark of brutality — and we accept it.”
The courtroom in Pretoria was packed with journalists from around the world; some relatives of Mr. Pistorius had to squeeze into the crowded standing area at the back of the courtroom. Police officials have indicated that they will oppose an expected application for bail.
Members of his family, also weeping, were in the courtroom when he appeared.Members of his family, also weeping, were in the courtroom when he appeared.
Early on Thursday morning, the police found Ms. Steenkamp 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. Early on Thursday morning, the police arrived at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated community in Pretoria to find his girlfriend, Ms. Steenkamp, in a puddle of blood, dead from gunshot wounds. Mr. Pistorius, 26, who ran on carbon-fiber blades that earned him his nickname, was charged with murder.
Ms. Steenkamp was a model about to make her debut on a reality television show.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. Early news reports said that Mr. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. But police officers discounted that notion, and 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. Jenna Edkins, a woman who said she had dated Mr. Pistorius on and off for years, took to Twitter to defend him.
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. “I have dated Oscar on off for 5 YEARS, NOT ONCE has he EVER lifted a finger to me, made me fear for my life,” she posted on Friday.

Lydia Polgreen reported from Johannesburg, and Alan Cowell from London. Mukelwa Hlatshwayo contributed reporting from Pretoria.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris and Mukelwa Hlatshwayo from Pretoria.