South African paralympian Oscar Pistorius was formally indicted on a premeditated murder charge on Monday, NBC News reported. The court later set March 3, 2014 as Pistorius' trial date. A list of more than 100 witnesses were submitted to the court and Pistorius was also indicted for illegal possession of ammunition, news reports said.
"Some of the State witnesses heard a woman scream, followed by moments of silence, then heard gunshots," the indictment read. "The deceased had locked herself into the toilet cubicle, situated adjacent to the main bedroom. The accused armed himself with his 9mm pistol and through the locked door, fired four shots at the deceased."
Pistorius wept at the courtroom during the indictment proceedings. He maintained his denial that he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, rather mistook her for an intruder at his Pretoria home.
In his affidavit previously presented at court, the track star said that he was "deeply in love" with her, giving him no reason to want to kill her. He said he reached for his pistol under his bed in the middle of the night, feeling vulnerable without his prosthetic limbs, news reports said.
Pistorius faces at least 25 years in prison, if he is found guilty of premeditated murder.
"We are thankful that a trial date has been set and that we can now start preparing for the court case," Pistorius's uncle Arnold said.
Steenkamp, a model and law school graduate, was an up-and-coming personality, already appearing in magazines, commercials and had just been in a reality TV show at the time of her death.
Contradicting Pistorius's claim that the shooting was accidental, it was revealed a few days after that police had been called to his residence two hours before the shooting because neighbors complained of hearing a loud argument.
South African media reported that he shot her four times through a bathroom door.
The announcement of Pistorius' indictment occurred on Monday, on what would have been Steenkamp's birthday.
