JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Oscar Pistorius planned a personal memorial
service on Tuesday for Reeva Steenkamp, the 29-year-old model he shot at his
home on Valentine's Day.
The evening service would be at the Pretoria home of his uncle
Arnold, where the Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail
awaiting trial on a premeditated murder charge.
Pistorius' reputation management firm said Pistorius had
specifically requested the service "as he remains in deep mourning for the loss
of his partner Reeva," whom he says he shot by accident assuming an intruder had
entered his home on Feb. 14.
"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," Vuma Reputation Management said in a statement.
Exactly a week ago, a memorial service was held for Steenkamp
in the southern coast city of Port Elizabeth, where her body was cremated
following a private service.
That same day, the bail hearing for Pistorius started in the
nation's capital Pretoria.
It was unclear exactly what Pistorius' service would consist of
or how many people would attend.
Prosecutors say the pair had an argument before Steenkamp was
killed. Vuma said that Pistorius "continues to grieve" for her. Vuma spokeswoman
Janice Hills would not give any further details about the ceremony, saying it is
"a private matter for the family."
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair set bail for Pistorius at 1
million rand ($113,000). The 26-year-old track star was also ordered to hand
over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home
in a gated community in Pretoria, the scene of the crime.
He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation
officer's permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alcohol.
Nair himself was in private mourning on Tuesday. He confirmed
that he is related to a woman suspected of killing her two children and
committing suicide on the weekend.
The revelation was the latest twist in the saga of Pistorius
and prominent figures linked to the case against the double-amputee athlete.
The bodies of a woman and her two sons were found Sunday
evening at their Johannesburg home by her ex-husband, police Warrant Officer
Balan Muthan said. Authorities suspect the woman administered a substance that
killed her children, and took her own life by ingesting it as well.
"I can confirm the deceased is my first cousin," Nair told The
Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The woman's brother, Vishal Maharaj, identified her as Anusha
Maharaj. Police said Maharaj was her family name before she married. South
African media identified her as Anusha Mooljee.
Muthan said police suspect "she took her own life by ingesting
a substance that killed her," and that she "most probably" gave the same
substance to her children. Autopsies were conducted Monday and toxicologists
were analyzing the substance believed to have killed the three family
members.
Suicide notes were found and a murder investigation was
underway, Muthan said. He said copies of the notes were admitted as evidence in
the probe and declined to comment on the contents.
Eyewitness News, a South African media outlet, said the boys
who died were 12 and 17 years old and cited neighbor Claire Osment as saying she
rushed outside after hearing screams coming from the townhouse where they
lived.
"We asked what happened. The dad just said, 'She has killed my
boys.' He was just crying," Eyewitness News quoted her as saying. "He couldn't
believe it, he couldn't believe that his sons are gone."
