The Reeva Steenkamp murder could be landing Oscar Pistorius in even more trouble.
The Olympic sprinter accused of killing his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day will be facing two new gun charges at the Steenkamp murder trial, prosecutors announced Tuesday. A judge ruled that the prosecution can roll together the gun charges in addition to the count of murder Pistorius faces, despite the fact that the alleged offenses took place before Steenkamp was killed.
“The prosecution received authorization to combine or centralize all charges against Mr. Pistorius,” National Prosecution Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube told AFP.
Oscar Pistorius rose to fame at the 2012 Olympics in London. He is a double amputee who uses fiberglass prosthetic legs during his competition, earning himself the nickname Blade Runner.
Despite failing to medal at the Olympics, he captured the public’s attention and won a number of endorsement deals. But Pistorius shocked fans and followers in February when he was accused of shooting girlfriend and model Reeva Steenkamp to death in the home they shared.
Pistorius has declared his innocence , saying he shot his girlfriend by accident when he mistook her for an intruder. He said he keeps a 9mm pistol underneath his bed to ward against intruders, and on the early morning in question heard a sound in the bathroom that he thought was someone breaking into his home.
“Because I did not have my legs on I felt vulnerable. I fired shots through the bathroom door and told Reeva to call police,” the runner said in a statment. Pistorius said he was then that he realized Steenkamp was not in bed .
“That’s when it occurred to me that she could have been in the bathroom. The bathroom door was locked. With the benefit of hindsight I realize that Reeva went to the bathroom when I went to close the balcony door.’
Oscar Pistorius will go on trial for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in March 2014.
