South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius will be back in the dock on Tuesday over the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend, just days after graphic photos emerged of the blood-spattered crime scene.

Pistorius is due to appear in a Pretoria court for a pre-trial hearing but both the defence and prosecution expect the case to be swiftly adjourned while detectives pursue their investigation.

The 26-year-old "Blade Runner" claims he shot his lover Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door in the early hours of February 14 after mistaking her for an intruder, and has assembled some of country's best legal names for his defence.

His manager revealed in an interview Monday that Pistorius is suffering from serious psychological problems.

"Oscar sleeps poorly. He eats poorly. There are days when he's okay but other days it's terrible," Peet van Zyl told the German weekly Der Spiegel.

"When you talk to him, of course he listens but I don't reach him, he's not there. He cries a lot.

"He sees a psychologist two or three times a week," Van Zyl said. "She is strict with him. When I see him after a session he always seems completely gutted."

South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius appears at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria on February 22, 2013. He will be back in the dock on Tuesday over the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend.

Pistorius, who became an inspiration to millions as the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics last year, is currently out on bail of one million rand ($99,000, 76,000 euros).

On Friday, Britain's Sky News television released leaked images showing the bloodied bathroom of Pistorius's luxury Pretoria home where 29-year-old Steenkamp was shot three times in the dead of night.

Defence lawyers have complained to prosecutors about the leaked pictures, which show bloodstains on the toilet seat and surrounding floor and the door marked with two bullet holes just below the handle.

Police spokesman Phuti Setati said they did not know the source of the photos but that the leak would not jeopardise their case.

The position of the bullet holes appears to back Pistorius's claim that he was not wearing his prostheses when he fired the shots.

He said he used a cricket bat to force open the door after realising he had mistakenly shot at Steenkamp -- who suffered gunshot wounds to her head, elbow and hip -- and then carried her downstairs to try to resuscitate her.

A relative of Reeva Steenkamp holds a funeral ceremony program in Port Elizabeth on February 19, 2013. Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius will be back in the dock on Tuesday over the Valentine's Day killing of Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door in the early hours of February 14 after mistaking her for an intruder.

Pistorius will appear in the Pretoria court in person on Tuesday, according to his lawyer Kenny Oldwage, although it is expected to be a brief hearing.

"The case is not likely to go ahead. We will have a postponement," Oldwage said.

The state hopes to finalise its case by August, although given the huge backlog of murder cases in one of the world's most dangerous countries, the trial may not start for some time.

Pistorius, who had been dating Steenkamp for only a few months, has described the shooting as a "horrible accident" and openly wept on his first day in court for bail hearings in February.

The hearings were marked by a series of embarrassments for the prosecution.

Pistorius's legal team cast doubt on the testimony of key witnesses, including a neighbour who claimed to have heard "non-stop fighting" from the house before the shooting.

Investigating officer Hilton Botha also struggled to provide sufficient forensic evidence on the circumstances of the shooting and conceded that he may have contaminated the crime scene.

Investigating officer Hilton Botha attends the bail hearing of Oscar Pistorius at a Pretoria court on February 21, 2013. He has struggled to provide sufficient forensic evidence on the circumstances of the shooting and conceded that he may have contaminated the crime scene.

Botha was forced to retract crucial parts of the state's evidence, and it later emerged that he himself was facing charges of attempted murder for shooting at a minibus in 2011.

He was dropped from the case and a top-ranking investigator was assigned to lead the investigation.

Botha, who has since quit the police force, defended himself Sunday in an interview with Britain's Mirror newspaper, saying the defence had hijacked the bail hearing with demands for evidence that police were still processing.

"It was supposed to be a bail application," he said. "I feel I was thrown in the deep end and I had to try to answer all questions.

"All the statements and stuff we were waiting for, forensics and ballistics, I didn't have."

Botha also said two witnesses had decided not to talk to police, the paper reported.

"At that stage I had witnesses who I wanted to keep on my side," he said. "There were witnesses I'd heard of that I wanted to get statements from but then they changed their minds.

"It sounds to me like someone spoke to them and they don't want to get involved."

Pistorius's lawyers are planning to seek a lesser charge of culpable homicide. Extreme cases of culpable homicide, with proven negligence and recklessness in the killing, carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.

But the prosecution argues it was premeditated murder, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Source: AFP