South African Celebrity Olympic Runner Being Charged for Murder

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On Thursday, South African police said they were charging Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius with murder following the death by shooting of his girlfriend at his home early on Thursday morning.

While other angles may not be ruled out, the incident has all the hallmarks of being a Valentine’s Day surprise turned tragically awry.

People have been speculating that Pistorius’ girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp may have been trying to spring a Valentine’s Day surprise by breaking into the athlete’s home during early morning hours.

  

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Brigadier Denise Beukes of the South African police told journalists that “We have also taken cognizance of the media reports during the morning of an alleged break in or that the young lady was mistaken to be a burglar … Obviously our forensic investigation is still ongoing …Our detectives have been on the scene … and the investigation is ongoing.”

The police said it had records of “previous incidents” of a domestic nature at the athlete’s home.

The theory that Steenkamp might have tried to spring a surprise came from her post on Twitter about Valentine’s Day. She had asked her followers, “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???”

Pistorius, 26, also known as the “Blade Runner” for his use of carbon fiber prosthetic blades, is the first double amputee to run in the Olympics. He won two gold medals at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Pistorius is an extremely popular athlete in South Africa and in 2012, Time Magazine included him in the list of the world’s 100 most influential people. He has been featured on the covers of magazines across the world, including The New York Times Magazine.

A 9mm pistol was found by police at the scene, and the police, who did not confirm the identity of the victim, said that the woman had been shot in the arm and in her head.