In a somber twist, the world-famous athlete will be served with the murder indictment on the day Steenkamp would have celebrated her 30th birthday.
Pistorius will be formally charged for the Valentine's Day slaying of the woman he says he loved dearly and killed by mistake, and will face a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. Other charges could be added to the indictment. Prosecutors declined to comment on South African media reports on Friday that charges of recklessly discharging a firearm in public in two separate incidents would also be laid against the runner.
If the extra charges — reportedly relating to Pistorius shooting a gun out a moving car and firing one accidentally at a restaurant — are added, they may show the prosecution's aim to paint him as trigger-happy at his blockbuster trial next year.
The 26-year-old Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet cubicle door in his bathroom in the early hours of Feb. 14 thinking she was a dangerous nighttime intruder. Prosecutors say he intended to kill her. A six-month police investigation ended this week, during which investigators reportedly focused on cellphones found at Pistorius' upscale home as well as the toilet door through which he shot.
