He was not charged, as previously speculated by the media, charged with two new charges related to separate incidents in which he allegedly fired his gun through the the sun roof of a moving vehicle or accidentally discharged a firearm while inside a restaurant.
The Pretoria Magistrate's courtroom opened to reporters two hours before today's hearing for Oscar Pistorius. Oscar was officially charged with murder and illegal possession of ammunition. (section 90 of the Firearms Control Act.) Trial was set for March 3 to 20, 2014 in the North Gauteng High Court. Magistrate Desmond Nair (who granted his bond application) presided over today's hearing.
A leaked ballistics report supports Oscar's statement that he was not wearing his prosthetic devices when he went to bathroom and fired his gun. He claims he thought there was a burglar in the bathroom and shot Reeva Steenkamp by accident.
At the bond hearing, the prosecution claimed he was wearing his prosthetics and argued this supported its theory that he had more than enough time to check whether his girlfriend was still in bed with him.
It sounds like the prosecution is short on evidence related to the shooting. To compensate, it may try to introduce unrelated past incidents to show he had arguments with girlfriends (who hasn't) and liked to shoot guns.
[B]y adding more gun-related charges, the prosecution has shown its hand by adopting a strategy whereby it will home in on Pistorius's "aggressive" behaviour to try to show he was prone to violent outbursts, which, it will say, was why he killed Steenkamp.
Pistorius has at least three top forensic experts on its team: Forensic pathologist Dr Reggie Perumal, ballistic expert Tom "Wollie" Wolmarans, and blood spatter expert Jannie van der Westhuizen.
An unnamed source familiar with the defense says:
"The defence will try to show that his actions were reasonable for a person with a disability. Such a person would feel more vulnerable than an able-bodied person and react differently when their life is in danger.
Court was delayed more than a half-hour. There were a lot of spectators in the courtroom. Reporters were inside the courtroom with their big cameras waiting to capture his arrival. They were allowed to photograph Oscar in the dock until the Magistrate entered the courtroom.
At 9:07 am, Oscar arrived in a white Range Rover. The crush of media around him was intense. He entered the court around 9:16 and had to stand there having his picture taken until 9:55 am, when the Magistrate entered. Mostly he stood looking down with his sister and brother holding his hand. Here's a closeup of his face.
At one point, his sister Aimee shed a few tears, and Oscar took out a hanky to dry her eye.
The Magistrate asked if Oscar was well. He answered that he was, given the circumstances. The Indictment was presented, the prosecutor requested the case be transferred to the High Court. Trial was set for March 3 to 20, 2014.
The Indictment charges that Oscar shot with the direct intention to kill a person. The state says "some of the state witnesses heard a woman scream followed by a silence then heard gunshots."
There are 107 names on the state's witness list, including former footballer Mark Batchelor, ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor, Oscar's uncle Arnold, and sister Aimee.
Thanks to these individual reporters who I followed during the bond hearings and who did just as good a job today. And Reuters live video service which live-streamed events outside and inside the courtroom (from which I got the screengrabs.)
(Note: Edited to reflect actual charges filed rather than those anticipated by media.)