Oscar Pistorius indicted on murder charge; witnesses heard 'woman scream'

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Oscar Pistorius is escorted to a police vehicle to be transported to prison after being sentenced to five years for the negligent killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

(Gianluigi Guercia / AFP/Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius greets his uncle Arnold Pistorius, right, and other family members as he is led out of court in Pretoria. (Herman Verwey / Associated Press)

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Oscar Pistorius after his sentencing at the high court in South Africa. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)

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June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives for the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of culpable homicide.

(Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius is led to a police vehicle to be taken to prison. (Antoine de Ras / Associated Press)

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Oscar Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp at a sports awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 4, 2012. (Frennie Shivambu / EPA)

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Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, after being found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

(Gianluigi Guercia / AFP/Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius, center, leaves the courthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, on Sept. 11 after the first session of the verdict hearing in his trial for the slaying of Reeva Steenkamp.

(Mujahid Safodien/ AFP/Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius reacts as Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers the first part of her verdict in his murder trial on Sept. 11. The judge acquitted him of murder charges but later convicted him of culpable homicide. (Kim Ludbrook / Associated Press)

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A photo provided by South African police on Feb. 14, 2013, shows a mobile phone, a gun and a blood splatter at the house of Oscar Pistorius, where he shot his girlfriend. (South Africa Police Services / EPA)

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Oscar Pistorius waits in the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 to hear the second part of the judge’s verdict in his murder case. (Alon Skuy / EPA)

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Oscar Pistorius arrives at the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 to hear the conclusion of the judge’s verdict in his murder case. (Gianluigi Guercia / AFP/Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius is led through the crowd at the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 as he arrives for the verdict hearing in his murder case. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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Members of the public try to get a glimpse of Oscar Pistorius outside North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. (Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images)

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Local newspapers in Pretoria, South Africa. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius arrives at court to face judgement over the death of his girlfriend. (Stefan Heunis / AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the ANC Women’s League protest Oscar Pistorius outside the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius leaves the courthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 20. (Themba Hadebe / Associated Press)

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State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, alongside a reconstruction of a toilet cubicle, through which Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on St. Valentine’s day in 2013. (Antoine de Ras / Associated Press)

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The door through which Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp used as evidence in court on April 14, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa. (Pool / Getty Images)

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Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is seen in the courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa. (Werner Beukes / AFP/Getty Images)

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South African Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during his trial in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in Pretoria. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)

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Arnold Pistorius, second right, uncle of Oscar Pistorius, and family members attend Pistorius’ trial in the slaying of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)

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Carl, brother of Oscar Pistorius, cries as his brother takes the stand at the high court in Pretoria. (Deaan Vivier / AFP/Getty Images)

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Aimee, sister of Oscar Pistorius, cries as her brother takes the stand. (Deaan Vivier / AFP/Getty Images)

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Activists wear T-shirts reading the popular line from Oscar Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux, “if I put it to you.” (Marco Longari / AFP/Getty Images)

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Police photographer Bennie van Staden testifies at Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. (DANIEL BORN / AFP/Getty Images)

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June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, and African National Congress Women’s League spokesperson Jackie Mofokeng attend the 13th day of the trial of South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on March 19, 2014. (Themba Hadebe / AP)

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Friends and family of Reeva Steenkamp at the trial of Oscar Pistorius, left, as Pistorius leaves the courtroom. (Phil Magakoe / EPA)

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Oscar Pistorius reacts Thursday in Pretoria high court, where he stands accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (Pool / Getty Images)

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Forensic investigator J.G. Vermeulen, with a cricket bat in hand, on Wednesday demonstrates how the door through which defendant Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend could have been broken down with the bat. (Werner Beukes / Associated Press)

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Oscar Pistorius leaves court. (Kim Ludbrook / EPA)

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Oscar Pistorius covers his ears as a witness testifies at his murder trial. (Marco Longari / AFP/Getty Images)

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June Steenkamp wipes her face with a tissue at the start the trial of Oscar Pistorius, right, at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday. (Themba Hadebe / Associated Press)

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As South African runner Oscar Pistorius, center, arrives in a Pretoria, South Africa, courtroom after a lunch break in his murder trial, June Steenkamp, second from right, mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp, looks on. (Herman Verwey / EPA)

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South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius appears at a court hearing in Pretoria last year. (Stephane de Sakutin / AFP/Getty Images)

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Oscar Pistorius buries his face in his hands during his appearance Friday in a Pretoria courtroom to face a charge of murder in the death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. The prosecution said it would argue the killing was premeditated murder, the most serious category of offense under South African law. (Antoine de Ras / AFP/Getty Images)

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A police vehicle carrying Oscar Pistorius is surrounded by a media mob at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria. (Stephane de Sakutin / AFP/Getty Images)

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A police officer holds a gun Thursday that was allegedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. (Phill Magakoe / Associated Press)

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South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius leaves the starting blocks in a first-round heat of the men’s 400 meters at the 2012 London Olympics. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

By Erin Conway-Smith

Aug. 19, 2013 10:16 AM PT

PRETORIA, South Africa – Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee Olympic sprinter known as the Blade Runner, was indicted Monday on a charge of premeditated murder in the Valentine’s Day killing of his girlfriend. The trial was set for March 3-20.

Pistorius, 26, is accused of shooting to death Reeva Steenkamp, a model and reality TV star, at his home on a luxury estate near Pretoria. He wept and prayed with brother Carl and sister Aimee during a brief appearance at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on what would have been Steenkamp’s 30th birthday.

The indictment handed to Pistorius states that he “did unlawfully and intentionally kill” Steenkamp at his home on Feb. 14, shortly after 3 a.m. He was also formally charged with illegal possession of ammunition.

Prosecutors have listed 107 witnesses they may call against Pistorius, including one of his ex-girlfriends, neighbors and friends of Steenkamp.

“Some of the state witnesses heard a woman scream, followed by moments of silence, then heard gunshots and then more screaming,” the indictment says.

Prosecutors allege that Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the door of a bathroom toilet cubicle, where she had gone to hide following an argument. Pistorius has admitted to shooting Steenkamp, but says he mistook her for an intruder.

The Paralympic champion will remain free on bail pending the trial, which will be transferred to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Outside the courtroom, Steenkamp’s friends issued a statement saying, “Not a day has gone by when anyone who ever came into contact with Reeva Steenkamp hasn’t thought about her.”

“Now, more than ever, Reeva’s memory lives on,” the statement said.

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Conway-Smith is a special correspondent.