AP, file

Olympian Oscar Pistorius stands following his bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 19.

PRETORIA, South Africa -- A South African court eased bail restrictions on Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, with the judge saying he should be allowed to travel abroad.

"I find no reason why Pistorius should be forbidden from leaving (South Africa) if he's invited to compete in athletic events in other countries," Judge Bert Bam told the court on Thursday. 

Pistorius, a double-amputee who is also a Paralympic star, and must provide authorities with an itinerary before he leaves the country, Bam said. He must also return his passport to the court within 24 hours of returning to South Africa, The Associated Press reported.

Pistorius' lawyers said the athlete had no immediate plans to travel or compete abroad, but may need to in order to make money.

His legal team had objected to him not being allowed to travel outside of South Africa even though a magistrate said he was not a flight risk when granting him 1 million rand ($108,000) bail.

The court also reversed the ban on Pistorius visiting the gated housing estate where he shot Steenkamp dead early on Valentine's Day.

The sprinter denies murdering Steenkamp and says he shot her by mistake, fearing an intruder was in his home. Prosecutors say he killed her intentionally following an argument.

There was no sign of Pistorius or his family in Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Pistorius was not obliged to appear. 

On Wednesday, the sprinter's brother also appeared in court on trial for the death of a woman in a road collision in 2008.

Carl Pistorius arrived Wednesday at the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg to face a charge of culpable homicide, or unlawful, negligent killing.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:30 AM EDT

Lucky Nxumalo/City Press via AP

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg in Nov. 4, 2012.

Oscar Pistorius was to hold a private memorial service Tuesday for the girlfriend he was charged with murdering.

Slain model Reeva Steenkamp was cremated and mourned at a family service last week while Pistorius was in custody during a weeklong hearing on whether he should be released on bail.

Now that the South African athlete is free on $112,000 bond, he "specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner," a statement from his representatives said.

Mike Sheehan /EPA file

Barry Steenkamp, father of Reeva Steenkamp, is embraced after her memorial service at the Victoria Park Crematorium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Feb. 19.

"Since it is such a sensitive issue," the statement said, "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."

The service was to be held at the hilltop Pretoria home of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, where he has been staying.

The sprinter known as "Blade Runner," who inspired millions when he became the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics, has admitted he fatally shot Steenkamp, 29, his girlfriend of four months.

He said in a court statement that he heard what he thought was a prowler, grabbed his gun, rushed to the bathroom on his stumps and fired through a closed door.

Prosecutors contend that he knew Steenkamp was in the bathroom and that he meant to kill her after a Valentine's Day argument. They charged him with premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life.

Steenkamp's family did not attend the emotionally charged bail hearing, where Pistorius, 26, sobbed numerous times as prosecutors leveled accusations against him.

Her mother has said she wanted answers about what happened the night of the shooting. Her father said last week that if Pistorius was telling the truth, he might one day forgive him, but that if he was lying, "he will suffer."

Meanwhile, the judge who presided at the bail hearing confirmed Tuesday he was dealing with a personal tragedy: his first cousin is suspected of poisoning her 12-year-old and 17-year-old boys and then killing herself in Johannesburg over the weekend, the Associated Press reported.

The revelation was one of several twists in the Pistorius case. Last week, the chief investigator was tossed from the inquiry because attempted murder charges stemming from a police-involved shooting in 2011 had been reinstated. And Pistorius' brother is also facing a homicide charge in connection with a 2008 car accident that left a woman dead.

Cheryll Simpson of NBC News contributed to this report

Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images

Carl Pistorius, who is facing culpable homicide charge in a 2010 road death, and sister Aimee Pistorius attend the appearance of their brother South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday.

JOHANNESBURG -The family lawyer of Oscar Pistorius says the brother of the Olympic paraplegic athlete is facing culpable homicide charge in a 2010 road death.

Laywer Kenny Oldwage would not confirm details of the case Carl Pistorius is facing, but Sunday's development is compounding the problems for the family after Oscar was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Local media reported that Carl Pistorius was allegedly involved in a crash with a woman motorcyclist and that he was to face trial last Thursday, as his brother Oscar was facing a bail hearing. 

Oscar Pistorius was released on bail Friday and his brother Carl was seen driving into the affluent villa of their uncle Arnold early Sunday, where Oscar is staying while on bail. 

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Slain model's father: Pistorius will 'suffer' if he's lying about her death

Video: Steenkamp’s dad may someday forgive Pistorius

'Nobody saw it coming,' Reeva Steenkamp's uncle says

Themba Hadebe / AP

Attempted murder charges against investigating officer Hilton Botha were reinstated Wednesday.

PRETORIA, South Africa -- The lead detective in Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius' murder case is himself facing attempted murder charges for opening fire on a minibus containing seven people in 2011, South African police said Thursday.

Hilton Botha, who took the stand against Pistorius at the Paralympic gold medalist's bail hearing this week, is due to appear in court in May, police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said.

"Botha and two other policemen allegedly tried to stop a minibus taxi with seven people. They fired shots," Malila told Reuters.

The charges were provisionally withdrawn, but were reinstated on Wednesday - at the behest of the state prosecutor - after Botha had taken the stand against Pistorius in Pretoria's main magistrates court, he added.

"We were informed yesterday that the charges will be re-instated," Malila said. "At this stage there are no plans to take him off the Pistorius case."

It was unclear why the charges were reinstated against Botha, or how the latest twist in Pistorius' sensational four-day bail hearing will affect the athlete's chances of securing release from custody pending his main trial.

Pistorius - a double amputee dubbed "Blade Runner" because of his carbon fiber racing blades - faces life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder over the shooting of his girlfriend.

South African media said that since the charges were not hanging over Botha when he was in the witness stand, the revelations about attempted murder charges were unlikely to mean his testimony would have to be withdrawn.

The new twist caps an ignominious 24 hours for South Africa's prosecution service.

Under cross-examination at the bail hearing on Wednesday, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in Pistorius' house and had to backtrack on details such as the distance of witnesses from the athlete's home.

Lead defense counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and slip-ups in their initial investigation.

Pistorius is accused of shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, at his home early on Valentine's Day.

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Pistorius' uncle: Olympian is in shock but 'will bounce back'

Sportscaster: Pistorius was 'jumpy,' had worries about safety

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:13 AM EST

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Defense lawyers exposed apparent weaknesses in the police evidence against Oscar Pistorius Wednesday as a court heard more dramatic details of the night he fatally shot his girlfriend.

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete stared fixedly at the floor, sobbing occasionally, as a senior investigator described the scene when officers arrived at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

Pistorius wore a black suit and blue tie on the second day of a hearing that will decide whether he would be bailed over charges that the shooting of 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp was premeditated.

Dubbed the "Blade Runner," Pistorius maintains he fired into his locked bathroom in a panic over a possible prowler. However, prosecutors say he put on his artificial legs and stalked Steenkamp to the bathroom to kill her.

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, an experienced detective, testified that a witness heard shouting for an hour coming from the house shortly before the shooting.

Another witness heard gunshots, saw lights on in the house, heard a woman screaming two or three times, then heard another few shots, Botha said.

But under cross-examination, Botha admitted one of the witnesses was 1,000 feet away from the house at the time.

Botha told the court that needles and testosterone were found in the athlete's bedroom.

The double-amputee's defense lawyer Barry Roux disputed that claim, saying the substance was in fact a herbal remedy and that police had misread the label. State prosecutor Gerrie Nel also had to correct Botha when he initially called the substance "steroids." 

Botha said Steenkamp's body was clothed and covered in towels, and that one bullet cartridge was discovered in the hallway of Pistorius' home, with three more found in the bathroom. A firearm was found on the shower mat.

The investigator said he wanted to charge Pistorius with possession of unlicensed ammunition, according to Reuters.

None of the phones found at Pistorius' house had been used to call police, Botha said.

Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images

The floorplan of Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius' house, shown at a court hearing on Wednesday.

The court heard a discussion about the layout inside of the detached house, in an upmarket, gated compound north of Pretoria.

Botha said the angle at which shots were fired through the door of a locked toilet within Pistorius' en suite bathroom suggested the shooter had aimed specifically to hit somebody on the toilet.

"I believe he knew she was in the bathroom," Botha said.

The downward trajectory of the shots suggests Pistorius was wearing his artificial legs when he pulled the trigger, he added.

However, there were gasps from Pistorius' family as Botha struggled to answer questions under cross-examination. Two female relatives glanced at each other and smiled.

The defense said Steenkamp’s bladder was empty, consistent with having gone to the toilet, as claimed by Pistorius.

It also emerged that Botha had prior dealings with Pistorius, having attended a 2009 incident at the house at which the athlete was arrested but not charged.

There was laughter in the courtroom as Botha insisted there was a risk Pistorius would flee if given bail, despite skepticism from magistrate, Desmond Nair.

As Wednesday's session closed, Pistorius seemed composed. The hearing resumes Thursday, but is expected to conclude by the end of the week.

On the first day of the hearing, prosecutors and the defense presented clashing accounts of how and why Pistorius shot Steenkamp.

A court statement from Pistorius denied "in the strongest terms" that he had deliberately killed Steenkamp, adding that the athlete was "deeply in love'' with her, according to Reuters.

"I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," the statement said.

Pistorius has hired his own high-profile forensic expert to analyze the police reports and post-mortem exam, South Africa news station ENCA reported.

His defense team includes lawyer Kenny Oldwage, who previously won an acquittal for a driver accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-grandchild in a 2010 accident.

NBC News' Tracy Connor and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot girlfriend

Sportscaster: Pistorius was 'jumpy' about safety

Mother of Pistorius' slain girlfriend: 'Why my little girl?'

This story was originally published on Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:34 AM EST