By Mac William Bishop, Ben Werschkul, Channon Hodge, Lisa Desai, Erica Berenstein and Pedro Rafael Rosado
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, arrived at a courtroom in the South African capital Pretoria on Friday to face formal murder charges.
- [h=6]The Fast Life of Oscar Pistorius (January 22, 2012)[/h]
- [h=6]The 6th Floor Blog: Oscar Pistorius, the Blade Runner in Repose (February 14, 2013)[/h]
- [h=6]Analysis: Pistorius Has Inspired and Divided (February 15, 2013)[/h]
[h=6]Joao Silva/The New York Times[/h] A billboard featuring Oscar Pistorius was removed in Johannesburg on Thursday.
[h=6]Lucky Nxumalo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images[/h] Pistorius was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The alleged killing by 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.
News of events at Mr. Pistorius’s 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. He arrived for the hearing sitting in the back a police van, according to reporters at the scene.
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.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Johannesburg, and Alan Cowell from London.
