Oscar Pistorius could face a murder charge after a judge dismissed his attorneys' attempt to prevent an appeal of the Olympian's conviction in the shooting of his model-girlfriend.
Prosecutors are seeking a murder conviction rather than the less-serious culpable homicide verdict handed down last year by Judge Thokozile Masipa. The judge agreed Friday to quash Pistorius' attempts to head off that appeal.
"The order that I grant in this matter is to strike off the application," Masipa said in her ruling, via the Daily Mail.
Pistorius is serving a five-year sentence for culpable homicide, but if prosecutors succeed in their appeal to South Africa's Supreme Court, the conviction could be upgraded to murder and Pistorius would spend at least 15 years behind bars.
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Masipa granted prosecutors permission last December to appeal her ruling. Culpable homicide is comparable to manslaughter.
Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Feb. 14, 2013. He claims that he mistook her for an intruder and shot her through a bathroom door. His trial took seven months.
It could be up to two years before the latest appeal is heard by the higher court.
Pistorius is a double-amputee who qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Before that, he was a legend in Paralympics competition, known as the "Blade Runner" for the prosthetic metal devices he wore in sprint competitions.
Reeva Steenkamp