Pistorius trial put on hold for psychiatric tests
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. A judge ruled on Wednesday, that Pistorius be sent for psychiatric observation. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Oscar Pistorius with unidentified relative leaves at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. A judge ruled on Wednesday, that Pistorius be sent for psychiatric observation. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Oscar Pistorius in the dock in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014, as the judge overseeing his murder trial ordered him to undergo psychiatric tests. The court adjourned until May 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia - Pool)
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Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The judge overseeing the murder trial of Pistorius on Wednesday ordered the double-amputee athlete to undergo psychiatric tests, meaning that the trial proceedings will be delayed. The court adjourned until May 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Werner Beukes, Pool)
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Oscar Pistorius, left, accompanied by an unidentified relative, walks towards the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The chief prosecutor in the murder trial of Pistorius on Tuesday asked that the double-amputee runner be placed under psychiatric evaluation after an expert witness testified that he had an anxiety disorder. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives for the Oscar Pistorius trail at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Oscar Pistorius's uncle Arnold Pistorius, reads a statement outside the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. A judge ruled on Wednesday, that Oscar Pistorius be sent for psychiatric observation. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Prosecutor Gerrie Nel looks on during the murder trial of Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria
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Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014, as the judge overseeing his murder trial ordered him to undergo psychiatric tests. The court adjourned until May 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia - Pool)
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. A judge ruled on Wednesday, that Pistorius be sent for psychiatric observation. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014, as the judge overseeing his murder trial ordered him to undergo psychiatric tests. The court adjourned until May 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia - Pool)
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The judge overseeing the murder trial of Pistorius on Wednesday ordered the double-amputee athlete to undergo psychiatric tests, meaning that the trial proceedings will be delayed. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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June Steenkamp, left, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, accompanied by an unidentified family friend, arrives for the Oscar Pistorius trail at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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Oscar Pistorius, right, accompanied by an unidentified relative walks towards the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Oscar Pistorius was ordered by a judge on Wednesday to undergo psychiatric tests, meaning that the double-amputee athlete's murder trial will be interrupted, possibly for two months.
The decision by Judge Thokozile Masipa followed a request for a psychiatric evaluation by the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel. The prosecutor had said he had no option but to ask for it after an expert witness for the defense testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder since childhood that may have influenced his judgment when he fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
— Associated Press