PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, appeared for a second time in a Pretoria court on Tuesday to seek bail — a step police officials have said they will oppose.
The hearing opened on the same day as Ms. Steenkamp was to be buried in the southern coastal city of Port Elizabeth in a private cemetery after cremation.
As the hearing opened, a prosecutor said Mr. Pistorius fired four times through a closed bathroom door. The police arrived at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated community in Pretoria early last Thursday to find Ms. Steenkamp, 29, dead from gunshot wounds. Mr. Pistorius, 26, who ran on carbon-fiber blades that earned him the nickname of Blade Runner, has disputed the charge against him.
Early news reports in South Africa said that Mr. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had accidentally shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder. But those suggestions gave way to grim police accounts of previous law enforcement complaints about domestic episodes at his home and the charge of premeditated murder.
The development stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius as an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa’s ability to project its achievements onto the world stage.
During his first court appearance on Friday, Mr. Pistorius did not enter a formal plea. But a statement released by his agent said that he disputed the charge of premeditated murder “in the strongest terms” and that “our thoughts and prayers today should be” for Ms. Steenkamp, and her family, “regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
If convicted, Mr. Pistorius would face 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.
Mr. Pistorius was born without fibula bones and both of his legs were amputated below the knee as an infant. But he became a Paralympic champion and became the first Paralympic sprinter to compete against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.
His triumphs made him a global track star but the case has forced him with cancel forthcoming events. Several companies have withdrawn lucrative sponsorships and his case has played into an emotional debate in South Africa about violence against women.
Members of the Women’s League of the ruling African National Congress protested outside the building, waving placards saying: “No Bail for Pistorius,” Reuters reported.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London.
The hearing opened on the same day as Ms. Steenkamp was to be buried in the southern coastal city of Port Elizabeth in a private cemetery after cremation.
As the hearing opened, a prosecutor said Mr. Pistorius fired four times through a closed bathroom door. The police arrived at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated community in Pretoria early last Thursday to find Ms. Steenkamp, 29, dead from gunshot wounds. Mr. Pistorius, 26, who ran on carbon-fiber blades that earned him the nickname of Blade Runner, has disputed the charge against him.
Early news reports in South Africa said that Mr. Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had accidentally shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder. But those suggestions gave way to grim police accounts of previous law enforcement complaints about domestic episodes at his home and the charge of premeditated murder.
The development stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius as an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa’s ability to project its achievements onto the world stage.
During his first court appearance on Friday, Mr. Pistorius did not enter a formal plea. But a statement released by his agent said that he disputed the charge of premeditated murder “in the strongest terms” and that “our thoughts and prayers today should be” for Ms. Steenkamp, and her family, “regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
If convicted, Mr. Pistorius would face 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.
Mr. Pistorius was born without fibula bones and both of his legs were amputated below the knee as an infant. But he became a Paralympic champion and became the first Paralympic sprinter to compete against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.
His triumphs made him a global track star but the case has forced him with cancel forthcoming events. Several companies have withdrawn lucrative sponsorships and his case has played into an emotional debate in South Africa about violence against women.
Members of the Women’s League of the ruling African National Congress protested outside the building, waving placards saying: “No Bail for Pistorius,” Reuters reported.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London.