Oscar Pistorius to start psychiatric evaluation next week, trial postponed to June 30

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Local artists sing a song called "Whose Oscar Pistorius" outside the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

PRETORIA, South Africa – A South African judge has ruled that Oscar Pistorius will start a period of psychiatric evaluation at a state institution on Monday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said Tuesday that the double-amputee athlete’s murder trial will be postponed until June 30 while he is observed as an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria.

Pistorius must go to the hospital at 9 a.m. every weekday and will be evaluated by a panel of four mental health experts. He can leave every day at 4 p.m. or when allowed by hospital authorities. Masipa ruled that Pistorius’ period of observation will not be more than 30 days.

A psychiatrist had testified at Pistorius’ trial that he had an anxiety disorder which may have contributed to him fatally shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.

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