GERALD IMRAY, Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The mother of the model shot dead at Oscar Pistorius' house says the family wants answers following her Valentine's Day killing.
June Steenkamp was quoted by the Times newspaper in South Africa in a front page interview Monday asking: "Why my little girl? ... Why did he do this?"
She says of late daughter Reeva, a model, law graduate and Pistorius' girlfriend, "she loved like no one else could love" and "just like that, she is gone."
Double-amputee athlete Pistorius, an icon in South Africa and a star of last year's Olympics, remains in custody in a Pretoria police station charged with Steenkamp's murder after she was shot multiple times inside his home.
He will reappear in court Tuesday, the same day as Steenkamp's private funeral in her hometown.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Associated Press, JON GAMBRELL
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - Oscar Pistorius has arrived at a courthouse for his bail hearing in the murder case of his girlfriend as South Africans braced themselves for the latest development in a story that has stunned the country.
The Paralympic superstar was earlier seen leaving a police station in a dark suit with a charcoal gray jacket covering his head as he got into a police vehicle.
Dozens of photographers and TV camera operators crowded into Courtroom C at Pretoria Magistrate's Court, where proceedings were due to begin at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Pretoria chief magistrate Desmond Nair is to hear Pistorius' bail application.
Model Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed at Pistorius' upmarket home in an eastern suburb of the South African capital in the predawn hours of Thursday.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The mother of the model shot dead at Oscar Pistorius' house says the family wants answers following her Valentine's Day killing.
June Steenkamp was quoted by the Times newspaper in South Africa in a front page interview Monday asking: "Why my little girl? ... Why did he do this?"
She says of late daughter Reeva, a model, law graduate and Pistorius' girlfriend, "she loved like no one else could love" and "just like that, she is gone."
Double-amputee athlete Pistorius, an icon in South Africa and a star of last year's Olympics, remains in custody in a Pretoria police station charged with Steenkamp's murder after she was shot multiple times inside his home.
He will reappear in court Tuesday, the same day as Steenkamp's private funeral in her hometown.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
JPRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - The South African Olympic runner known for his high-tech artificial legs is charged with murder in the death of his model girlfriend. Oscar Pistorius left a police station in Pretoria today after being questioned about the death of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot four times early this morning.
Police say there had been previous incidents at Pistorius' home. His court hearing is set for tomorrow.
The woman who was shot dead in double-amputee Olympian runner Oscar Pistorius' house was a model, a law school graduate and an entrepreneur who cared about empowering women and was to give an inspirational talk Thursday at a Johannesburg School.
Publicist Sarit Tomlinson said Reeva Steenkamp, known simply as Reeva, was one of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World for two years running, appeared in international and South African advertisements and was one of the celebrity contestants on Tropika Island of Treasure filmed in Jamaica.
At Twitter, she tweeted messages urging women to stand up against rape alongside her excitement about Valentine's Day. "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?" she tweeted. "It should be a day of love for everyone."
South African media are reporting Steenkamp may have been trying to surprise Pistorius for Valentine's Day and he thought it was an intruder.
Pistorius made history at the London Olympics last year when he became the first double-amputee runner to compete on the track at the Games and is one of South Africa's most famous athletes.
Having had both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was less than a year old, he campaigned for years to be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes and finally was cleared by sport's highest court to be able to run at the top events. Pistorius competed in the 400 meters and on South Africa's 4x400 relay team at the London Games and also retained his Paralympic title in the 400 meters in London.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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