Paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius was charged Thursday with the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, an up-and coming South African model who spoke out on social causes.
In the predawn hours on Valentine's Day, Steenkamp was reportedly shot four times inside the gated community home of Pistorius in the South African capital of Pretoria.
The track star's court hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but has been postponed until Friday to give forensic investigators time to carry out their work, according to ESPN.com.
According to the police, the famed Paralympic champion has had a history of problems in the past leading up to this murder charge.
There have "previously been incidents at the home of Mr. Oscar Pistorius," said police spokeswoman Brigadier Denise Beukes. Police in South Africa do not name suspects in crimes until they have appeared in court, but Beukes said that the 26-year-old Pistorius was at his home at the time of the death of Steenkamp and that "there is no other suspect involved. Yes, there are witnesses and there have also been interviews this morning. We are talking about neighbors and people that heard things that happened earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place," Beukes told reporters.
Police said that earlier reports that Steenkamp may have been mistaken for a burglar by Pistorius did not come from the police. Several local media outlets had initially reported that the shooting may have been accidental.
Steenkamp and Pistorius had been dating for several months, NBC News reported. Steenkamp's publicist Sarit Tomlinson described the incident as "a huge loss for everyone and too shocking for words. She was a rising star... a very bright girl."
Pistorius, who was born without a fibula in both legs, was the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, running in 11 races during the 2012 Games and the Paralympics.
He returned home with "two Paralympic gold medals, Paralympic silver, two world records, a Paralympic record, an Olympic individual semi-final and an Olympic final," according to the Huffington Post.
On her Twitter page, Steenkamp often spoken out against rape and the abuse of women. She grew up in a small suburb of Capetown. She began to study law at the University of Port Elizabeth, and initially worked as a paralegal.
According to reports, as a model she appeared in magazines like FHM, and was signed up to appear in the reality TV show Tropika Island of Treasure. Her Facebook and Twitter pages were filled with wishes of sorrow on the announcement of her death.
