Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius is apparently feeling sorry for himself while awaiting trial for shooting his girlfriend, and wishing other people would share that sentiment.

The embattled South African track star's family issued a statement essentially complaining about celebrity gossip tabloids and his many social media critics.

Pistorius family says they are pained by the "disregard that is being shown by some ... for the profound pain that Reeva’s family and friends are going through."

That would be his slain GF Reeva Steenkamp. But their sympathy doesn't end with her. Oscar's family says that despite being free on bail, life is tough:

Continue Reading...

Oscar Pistorius won a battle in court today, but his rep followed it up by assuring the public:

The Olympian and suspected killer will NOT be attempting to win any track and field races in the near future.

A judge eased the runner's bail restrictions this morning, giving Pistorius permission to leave the country in order to perform his sport.

Continue Reading...

South African Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius, accused of killing his murdering Reeva Steenkamp, is "on the verge of suicide," a close family friend said.

The athlete is a "broken man" after rising legal costs forced him to sell his belongings, Mike Azzie claims, noting that Pistorius denies it was murder.

His lawyers, meanwhile, have filed appeal to ease his bail restrictions.

Pistorius, who will be placed on trial for shooting his model girlfriend at his home last month, was freed on bail February 22. His trial will commence in June.

Azzie, who has known the double amputee - a national hero and global inspiration before the tragedy - since childhood, fears for his mental and emotional state.

Continue Reading...

Oscar Pistorius planned a personal memorial service tonight for Reeva Steenkamp, the 29-year-old model he shot at his home on Valentine's Day.

The evening service would be at the Pretoria home of his uncle Arnold, where the Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail.

He is free awaiting trial on a premeditated murder charge.

Pistorius' reputation management firm said he had specifically requested the service "as he remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva."

Continue Reading...

Carl Pistorius, the brother of Oscar Pistorius, is ALSO charged with murder.

Oscar's older sibling faces 15 years in prison after allegedly killing a female biker in a fatal car crash; he's been charged with culpable homicide.

ENCA news, a South African TV channel, says the crash took place in 2010 and prosecutors say Pistorius' reckless driving led to the death a motorcyclist.

Carl's lawyer recently told the station that Carl "deeply regrets the accident," but was adamant his client was not drunk at the the time of the collision.

Continue Reading...

Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius is free on bail pending his murder trial in South Africa after a judge's ruling that surprised many. Why was he let out?

Pistorius is free on bail - set randomly at $112,771 - despite shooting his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death on Valentine's Day in his home.

Yes, he's presumed innocent in a court of law, but the grisly nature of the crime made bail seem unlikely, whether you buy his defense or not.

The judge's rationale for cutting the athlete loose was several-fold:

Continue Reading...

Oscar Pistorius was awarded bail on Friday after being charged with murdering his girlfriend. He will be free, pending his trial in a few months' time.

The ruling by Magistrate Desmond Nair was cheered by Pistorius' family and supporters at the Pretoria magistrate's court; the athlete himself was unmoved.

The bail decision followed days of dramatic testimony about how the athlete killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his luxury home on Valentine's Day.

Prosecutors said Oscar Pistorius committed murder when he fired four shots into a locked bathroom door, hitting his girlfriend cowering on the other side.

Steenkamp, 29, suffered gunshot wounds to her head, hip and arm.

Continue Reading...

The Oscar Pistorius case took a strange twist after it was revealed that Hilton Botha, the lead investigator, was charged with seven counts of attempted murder.

Prosecutors said they didn’t know Botha faces seven charges of attempted murder in connection with the October 2011 shooting of a minibus in South Africa.

Hilton Botha, a 24-year police veteran with 16 years as a detective, is slated to appear in court this May along with two other police officers in the incident.

Continue Reading...

Was South African Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius on steroids, and was PED use at all related to the alleged murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp?

As a bail hearing continued Wednesday in the shocking murder case, police testified that they discovered testosterone and needles inside the athlete's home.

Defense lawyers countered that Oscar Pistorius took no banned performance-enhancing drugs, describing the substances found as purely herbal.

According to the International Paralympic Committee, the star tested drug-free as recently as last September. Still, the "roid rage" questions linger.

Continue Reading...

Oscar Pistorius swore in a South African courtroom Tuesday that he believed he was shooting an intruder last week - not girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

As the Olympian's lawyer read a sworn deposition claiming her death was an accident, prosecutors scoffed, saying he was hell-bent on murdering her.

He is charged with doing so in premeditated fashion.

Pistorius says he believed an intruder was in his house on Valentine's Day and he felt vulnerable because he was in bed without his prosthetic legs.

That's why he fired bullets through a bathroom door, killing Reeva Steenkamp, who prosecutors counter was hiding from him and cowering in there.

Officials say Pistorius' motive was simple: "I want to kill."

Continue Reading...