Pistorius to be charged with murder on his slain girlfriend’s birthday

Oscar Pistorius will be charged with premeditated murder on Monday and the double-amputee Olympian will go on trial in early 2014, about a year after shooting dead his girlfriend, prosecutors said.

In a sombre twist, Pistorius, known as the Blade Runner because of his artificial legs, will be indicted on the day the woman he killed, Reeva Steenkamp, would have celebrated her 30th birthday.

National prosecuting authority spokesman Medupe Simasiku said yesterday that the exact date for the trial had not yet been set and would likely be decided on Monday, Pistorius’ next appearance in court.

The indictment papers will be served at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and the prosecution will retain a main charge of premeditated murder, Mr Simasiku said. Pistorius faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted.

Pistorius was initially charged with premeditated murder of Ms Steenkamp for bail purposes while police investigated the circumstances of the Valentine’s Day shooting. Police said this week they had completed their six-month investigation and are convinced Pistorius “had a charge to answer to”, leading to the indictment. Additional charges are “possible”, said Mr Simasiku. He declined to comment on South African media reports that charges relating to Pistorius allegedly discharging a firearm recklessly in two other incidents would be added to the indictment.

Prosecutors said in a statement that it would be “inappropriate” to comment about “the charges” before they were made public on Monday.

Pistorius denies murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake on Feb 14 because he thought she was an intruder in his bathroom in his villa.