Pistorius murderer trial begins

A file picture dated 19 August 2013 shows South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius as he appears in the Pretoria Magistrates court in Pretoria, South Africa.  [Photo/Agencies]

Parts of the trial will be broadcast on live television, both in South Africa and across the world, and hundreds of reporters are expected to descend on North Gauteng High Court in the South African capital for the start of the trial. The 24-hour cable channel devoted solely to the trial will continue until the case is finished.

The trial will deal with the bloody killing of a 29-year-old model and law graduate, but also the issue of gun ownership and South Africa's problem of violent crime, which Pistorius says was the reason why he kept his licensed 9 mm handgun under his bed. Pistorius says his fear of crime was why he fired four shots through the door, hitting Steenkamp three times - in the head, elbow and hip.

Prosecutors maintain he was simply angry with her after an argument.

Members of Pistorius' family will likely attend the trial, as they did on his previous court hearings. His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, sister Aimee and brother Carl are all also listed as state witnesses.

"We love Oscar, and believe in him, and will be standing by him throughout the coming trial," Arnold Pistorius said in a statement over the weekend.

The presence of Steenkamp's mother is the first time that any members of the victim's family have attended any of Pistorius' previous court appearances.

"All we are looking for is closure and to know that our daughter did not suffer on that tragic Valentine's Day," said Steenkamp's parents said in a statement last month, days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting that stunned South Africa.

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