Pistorius arrives at psychiatric hospital

By: 11 years ago

Oscar Pistorius checks his mobile phone in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, May 20, 2014, after a ruling was read out by Judge Thokozile Masipa that he would undergo psychiatric evaluation. Pistorius is charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. AP

PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius has arrived at a psychiatric hospital in South Africa to begin the period of mental evaluation he was ordered to undergo by the judge at his murder trial.

Pistorius was in the passenger seat of a black sedan and speaking on a cellphone when he arrived Monday morning at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria. He drove into the facility behind a police van.

Judge Thokozile Masipa last week ordered that the double-amputee runner be observed by a panel of mental health experts for up to 30 days at Weskoppies after a psychiatrist testified at his trial that he had an anxiety disorder and it could have contributed to his fatal shooting of his girlfriend.

Pistorius will be evaluated as an outpatient and return home each day.