"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius has planned a private memorial ceremony for Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he is accused of murdering. The funeral was planned for Tuesday night, with reports on the service emerging earlier that day.
While there has been no argument about Pistorius shooting the model -- he says he did so, but accidentally, thinking she was an intruder -- authorities are seeking to prosecute him for premeditated murder. Pistorius was granted baill last week, with his bail hearing taking place at the same time the official services for the 29-year-old model were ongoing.
Pistorious planned to hold his service at the Pretoria, South Africa home of his uncle Arnold, where the former Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail.
Pistorius' reputation management firm, Vuma Reputation Management said in a statement:
Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own.
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair set bail for Pistorius at 1 million rand ($113,000). In addition, the 26-year-old track star was required to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and stay away from the scene of the crime, his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria.
Pistorius also cannot leave the district of Pretoria without the permission of his probation officer, nor is he allowed to consume drugs or alcohol.
Pistorius has claimed since the very beginning of the case that he shot Steenkamp accidentally, believing she was an intruder. He shot Steenkamp through a closed bathroom door, but said he did so because he felt vulnerable, as he was not wearing the carbon fiber prosthetics he uses to walk and run.
While he said he did not realize, upon waking, that his girlfriend was not in the bed next to him, authorities instead say that the couple quarreled and that the former Olympian intentionally killed her in a premeditated case of murder.
Oscar Pistorius was born with a condition known as fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the fibula) in both legs. When he was 11 months old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles. He uses carbon-fiber prosthetics that enable him to walk and run, and was nicknamed "Blade Runner" due to them.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics on Aug. 4, 2012, Pistorius became the first amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games.
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