Oscar Pistorius To Face Court In Pretoria

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius is due to front court in South Africa today to face charges of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Police in Pretoria have told Sky News they now have "everything they need" to present the case against him in court.

The 26-year-old double-amputee is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp in a shooting incident at Pistorius' home in February.

Prosecutors say Pistorius will be indicted on a main charge of premeditated murder at Pretoria Magistrate's Court today.

Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

His trial is expected to start early next year, but the exact date will likely be set during today's court appearance.

The indictment papers served on Pistorius by the state mean the case will be sent to the High Court in Pretoria.

Ms Steenkamp was shot dead at Pistorius' home in February

A judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the world-famous athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.

The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors have told The Associated Press that it is "possible" that additional charges could be added to the indictment.

But they declined to comment on South African media reports that Pistorius would face two other charges relating to recklessly discharging a firearm in a public place in two separate incidents.

The incidents - reportedly when Pistorius shot a gun out of the sunroof of a moving car and let one off accidentally in a restaurant - would seemingly show the prosecution's attempt to paint Pistorius as trigger-happy at his trial.

Neither Pistorius' defence lawyers nor his family would comment in detail on any of the charges, but a spokeswoman said they would see a copy of the indictment papers before Monday so they could prepare.

"The Pistorius family does not wish to comment on any aspects of this court case before the next court appearance," Anneliese Burgess said.

"In our view, the correct place for any information relating to charges or witnesses or any other aspects pertaining to this or any other legal case, is in a court of law."

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