--- description: His trial will be postponed as mental health experts determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for murder title: Pistorius to Undergo Mental Examination image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd715521fbaf749ab/6986902b13c79ff2121922bc/490302589.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Africa](/tag/south-africa/) ## South Africa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Judge Orders Pistorius to Undergo Mental Examination  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 20, 2014 11:58 AM CUT  Oscar Pistorius leaves North Gauteng High Court after the judge ordered tht he should undergo mental evaluation on May 14, 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa. Oscar Pistorius leaves North Gauteng High Court after the judge ordered tht he should undergo mental evaluation on May 14, 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 20, 2014 11:58 AM CUT Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee champion runner, will check into a state psychiatric institution in South Africa next week, a judge ruled Tuesday, where a panel of experts will determine if he can be held criminally responsible for killing his girlfriend. Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered the former Olympian to report to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria Monday through Friday of next week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ruling will postpone the trial until June 30. ABC News [reports](http://abcnews.go.com/International/judge-outlines-psychiatric-evaluation-oscar-pistorius/story?id=23789647 "undefined") that the decision comes after the defense team’s expert witness, Dr. Merryll Vorster, testified that Pistorius suffered from generalized anxiety disorder which might have caused him to panic in a threatening situation. Pistorius maintains that he thought intruders had broken into his house when he fired shots through a closed bathroom door, killing his 29-year-old girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/105866/oscar-pistorius-trial-mental-examination/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/105866/oscar-pistorius-trial-mental-examination/"},"headline":"Judge Orders Pistorius to Undergo Mental Examination","datePublished":"2014-05-20T11:58:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:56:15.776Z","description":"Athlete's trial will be postponed until June 30, as mental health experts determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp","url":"https://time.com/105866/oscar-pistorius-trial-mental-examination/","keywords":["South Africa","Athletes","oscar pistorius","Reeva Steenkamp"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd715521fbaf749ab/6986902b13c79ff2121922bc/490302589.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd715521fbaf749ab/6986902b13c79ff2121922bc/490302589.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oscar Pistorius Is Tried For The Murder Of His Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp","caption":"Oscar Pistorius Is Tried For The Murder Of His Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp","creditText":"Christopher Furlong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-africa/","name":"South Africa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/105866/oscar-pistorius-trial-mental-examination/","name":"Judge Orders Pistorius to Undergo Mental Examination"}}]}] ```