Oscar Pistorius: The Shocking Release Full Documentary
On the 24 November 2023, a private parole board hearing at Atteridgevale prison in Pretoria set Oscar’s release for 5 January 2024. In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Valentines day, Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius at his Pretoria home. The South African Paralympian sprinter was taken into police custody and was formally charged with murder the following day.
This documentary recounts the night of the murder, the polarizing trial, and his shocking release.
Cast:
Oscar Pistorius, Reeve Steenkamp, Ampie Louw, Jannie Brooks, Sir Mohamed Farah, Arnold Pistorius, June Steenkamp, Mike Kendrick, Mike Azzio, Davor Vid Dadic, Kim Myers, Luvuyo Mfaku, Singabakho Nxumalo
Filmmakers:
Remone Jones, Brian Aabech, Jordan Hill
Production Company:
Entertain Me Productions Ltd 2024
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This documentary recounts the night of the murder, the polarizing trial, and his shocking release.
Cast:
Oscar Pistorius, Reeve Steenkamp, Ampie Louw, Jannie Brooks, Sir Mohamed Farah, Arnold Pistorius, June Steenkamp, Mike Kendrick, Mike Azzio, Davor Vid Dadic, Kim Myers, Luvuyo Mfaku, Singabakho Nxumalo
Filmmakers:
Remone Jones, Brian Aabech, Jordan Hill
Production Company:
Entertain Me Productions Ltd 2024
#truecrimedocumentary #documentary #oscarpistorius #truecrime
Related Keywords:
Oscar Pistorius documentary Netflix
Oscar Pistorius documentary 2024
Oscar Pistorius documentary where to watch
Oscar Pistorius documentary 30 for 30
Best Oscar Pistorius documentary
Oscar Pistorius documentary BBC
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TVTranscript
00:00After nearly a decade behind bars, Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison.
00:07Now I just want to take you to some breaking news. It's a story that we've been talking about here on BBC News this morning and it relates to Oscar Pistorius.
00:17In the early morning of Thursday, February 14th, 2013, Reva was shot and killed by Oscar at his Pretoria home.
00:27Early Thursday morning, neighbors in his exclusive gated community heard commotion and gunshots.
00:33At this stage we can confirm that a young woman, a 30-year-old woman, did die on the scene of gunshot wounds.
00:40A 26-year-old man has been arrested and has been charged with murder.
00:45The news of Reva's murder sent the media into a frenzy and opened Pistorius up to all sorts of questions.
00:53Was the murder premeditated? Did he have a past of abuse?
00:58Did Pistorius know who was behind the bathroom door as he unloaded his gun?
01:03Or was he simply a man trying to protect himself and the one he loved from an intruder?
01:10Let's get right to the latest on Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic hero accused now of murder this morning.
01:16The nation woke up on Thursday morning to news that Olympic and Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius
01:20had shot and killed his girlfriend in his home in Pretoria.
01:23Good morning Amy. As Oscar Pistorius spends his fifth day in the South African jail,
01:27police sources are leaking incriminating information from media, including new claims that he may have been using steroids.
01:34Police say Steenkamp was shot four times with a 9mm pistol.
01:38The murder shocked their fans around the world.
01:42The question for this single judge is not who did this, but why?
01:47But it wasn't the media that the track star would have to answer to.
01:52He would have to stand on trial in a court of law.
01:55After you fired the first shot, did she scream?
01:58No, milady.
01:59Are you sure?
02:00Yes, milady.
02:01Would you have heard her?
02:02I don't think I would have heard her.
02:04Exactly.
02:05It was a gunshot that went off, milady. My ears were ringing.
02:07How can you exclude the fact that she was screaming if you couldn't hear?
02:10Oscar's early release has reignited debates about the criminal justice system,
02:16about whether or not his wealth, fame and race helped him during the controversial trial.
02:22What we've seen is that money, you have money, for instance in this country, you can be out.
02:28You can buy anything. You can buy your way out.
02:32And a humble, mild-mannered icon of disabled sport,
02:36until four cracks of his handgun and its bloody consequences revealed a different side to Oscar Pistorius.
02:43Just to bring you an update of the incident that happened this morning,
03:00first of all, from the South African Police Service's side,
03:03we can confirm that there was a shooting incident this morning
03:06at the home of the well-known Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.
03:11At this stage, we can confirm that a young woman, a 30-year-old woman,
03:16did die on the scene of gunshot wounds.
03:19A 26-year-old male has been arrested and has been charged with murder.
03:24At this stage, he's on his way to a visit to the district surgeon for a medical examination,
03:29and he'll be appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court at 2 o'clock this afternoon.
03:33The trial commenced on March 3, 2014, in the High Court of Pretoria.
03:39There was no jury, as the jury system in South Africa was abolished during the apartheid era.
03:46The trial was assigned to Judge Thokazil Masipa,
03:50who appointed two assessors, Jeannette Henzen de Troyes and Thimba Mazibuko,
03:56to help her evaluate the case and reach a verdict.
03:59In addition to the murder charge,
04:02Pistorius also faced the charge of illegal possession of ammunition
04:07and two charges of firing a gun in a public space.
04:11The opening statement of the prosecutor noted that the murder case against Pistorius
04:17was based largely on circumstantial evidence,
04:20as there were no eyewitnesses to the incident.
04:23The first count against you, accused count one, is one of murder.
04:27The accused had unlawfully and intentionally killed a person, the word Riva Steenkamp,
04:32a 29-year-old female.
04:37That is count one?
04:38That's count one.
04:39Yes. Do you understand the charges, Mr. Pistorius?
04:42I do. I do, my lady.
04:44How do you plead?
04:45Not guilty, my lady.
04:47The only witnesses who truly knew what went on that night were Oscar and Riva,
04:54but only one of them was here to retell the story.
04:58So what were Oscar's versions of events?
05:03One of the world's most recognisable athletes on the planet right now
05:07arrived at court under a blanket.
05:09A visibly humbled Oscar Pistorius faced the cameras again
05:13to hear the main police investigating officer say he didn't believe his explanation,
05:18that he'd killed his girlfriend thinking she was a burglar.
05:21If given bail, the policeman said, the athlete would flee.
05:25He had an overseas account, a house in Italy and the money.
05:29Police officer Hilton Porter said there was no way the sprinter was acting in self-defence.
05:36Pistorius provided an affidavit to the court in which he stated the following.
05:41By about 2200 hours on February 13th, 2013,
05:47she was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television.
05:52My prosthetic legs were off.
05:55After Riva finished her yoga exercises, she got into bed and we both fell asleep.
06:02During the early morning hours of February 14th, 2013,
06:07I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in
06:10and closed the sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains.
06:15At the trial, the defence said that Pistorius woke up because of the heat and humidity.
06:21Steenkamp was already awake and asked him if he was having trouble sleeping.
06:26Walking around on his stumps, Pistorius opened the balcony door
06:30and brought in a fan to try and cool the room down.
06:34While doing this, he heard a noise coming from the bathroom.
06:38He thought an intruder had broken into the house.
06:41He got his gun from under the bed and whispered to Steenkamp to call the police.
06:47I heard a noise in the bathroom and realized that someone was in the bathroom, he continued.
06:53I believed that someone had entered my house.
06:56I was too scared to switch a light on.
06:58I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed.
07:02On my way to the bathroom, I screamed words to the effect of him or them
07:07to get out of my house and for Riva to phone the police.
07:11It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Riva was in bed.
07:15I noticed that the bathroom window was open.
07:18I realized that the intruder was in the toilet because the toilet door was closed
07:23and I did not see anyone in the bathroom.
07:26I heard movement inside the toilet.
07:29The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.
07:33It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet.
07:39I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window.
07:45As I did not have my prosthetic legs on, I felt extremely vulnerable.
07:50I knew I had to protect Riva and myself.
07:53I believed that when the intruders came out of the toilet, we would be in grave danger.
07:59I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.
08:05I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Riva to phone the police.
08:10She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance.
08:16Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light.
08:21When I reached the bed, I realized that Riva was not in bed.
08:25That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Riva who was in the toilet.
08:30I returned to the bathroom calling her name.
08:33I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked.
08:37I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.
08:44Pistorius then returned to the bathroom calling out for Riva as he did so.
08:49He said he tried to open the toilet door but he couldn't because it was locked.
08:54He then went back into the bedroom on his stumps, opened the balcony door and started screaming for help.
09:01He put on his prosthetic legs and then tried to kick down the toilet door.
09:06When that didn't work, he moved back to the bedroom to get his cricket bat.
09:11He used the bat to smash holes in the door.
09:14One of the door panels broke open, enabling him to reach inside and open the door.
09:20He found Steenkamp alive, slumped over the toilet.
09:24We have the statement of a person who said after he heard gunshots, he went to his balcony and saw the light was on.
09:30Then he heard a female screaming two, three times, then more gunshots.
09:35The court was shown a floor plan of the bedroom and ensuite bathroom where the model was killed.
09:40I believe he knew she was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door and killed her.
09:46One bullet cartridge was found outside the bathroom, three others inside.
09:51The shots went in a top to bottom trajectory, suggesting Pistorius was wearing his artificial legs when he pulled the trigger.
09:59He said the location of the wounds on her body showed she was not using the toilet but was hiding from Pistorius.
10:06But the defence said Riva had an empty bladder, unlikely at 3am if she hadn't been to the toilet, and she didn't have any defensive wounds.
10:15The court also heard that the policeman found testosterone steroids in a medical box.
10:20The defence has torn away at the state's case, forcing the chief police investigating officer to admit he had failed to make basic checks.
10:28He had failed to check whether other calls for ambulances had been made on other phones other than the ones he seized.
10:35He had not checked that the medical box was a simple legal herbal remedy.
10:40And the witness that he relied on who said that she'd heard screams and an argument was some 600 metres away from the Pistorius household.
10:48That prompted gasps of disbelief here in the courtroom.
10:52Of course, Oscar's retelling of the night stirred up debate all over South Africa.
10:59South Africa is a country riddled with gun crime, with four times more gun-related homicides every year than the US, but with a fifth of the population.
11:11Keeping a firearm in the house for protection is seen as normal.
11:16It is estimated that there are six million privately owned guns, more than one for every ten people.
11:24In a country with so many guns, it's inevitable that accidents will happen.
11:35Okay, this is now a copper wash, full metal jacket.
11:38We shot a full metal jacket of PMP.
11:41This is the Winchester Black Talon.
11:44Black Talon, T-A-L-O-N.
11:47What we've done is we've filled the buckets up with water.
11:51You will see we shot it through a thin piece of wood to simulate the door through the plastic inside the water.
11:59What is noticeable immediately is you will see that the entrances are basically very close to each other.
12:07Because it's 9mm, the sizes of the entrances will be very close.
12:11But, as soon as you pick this up, you can clearly see that on the Black Talon, the transfer of energy was so much that it actually broke the whole bin that we had.
12:24Whereas on the normal full metal jacket, the bin just broke at the back.
12:30You will see that there are little cutouts on the front of the projectile.
12:34And that causes, as the tissue actually goes inside, it actually opens, it actually breaks up.
12:39And it opens up.
12:41And I'm going to show you a little bit later what a fired Black Talon looks like.
12:46It makes little claws.
12:48And it actually takes flesh and tissue and everything goes with it.
12:53That's why it's so devastating.
12:55A normal hollow point will just open up and mushroom like a mushroom.
12:58This actually opens up and becomes like a, I can almost call it a bear claw that's going to hit you.
13:06Ready?
13:07One second.
13:09Five seconds.
13:12I'm up to speed.
13:23You will notice this was the front end of the projectile.
13:27It opened up.
13:28This part will close up, so it actually opened up like I've explained.
13:33And it actually makes these little hooks.
13:36And it takes the tissue and everything.
13:38That's what causes so much damage.
13:41Okay, load it.
13:44Okay, what we've got here is a Glock 17, not a Glock 27.
13:47The Glock 27 is just a different caliber, but the mechanism on the inside of the Glock is all the same.
13:52Now what you will see in this Glock is you'll see that on the trigger it's got like a little lever that needs to be depressed.
14:01In other words, if it needs to fire.
14:02Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to cock the firearm.
14:05We're going to say that there's a cartridge inside the chamber.
14:08Now it's loaded.
14:10Let's say the magazine is in.
14:11It's loaded.
14:12Now I can carry the firearm.
14:13It's got no other levers or safety catches or anything on the outside visible.
14:20The only thing it's got is this little lever.
14:24Now if you look inside, you can actually see inside.
14:28It actually pushes up.
14:31Now if I miss that and I just push the trigger, it won't go past.
14:38In other words, it won't fire.
14:39So how easy is it to accidentally fire one?
14:42Accidentally miss fire?
14:44It's highly unlikely.
14:45It's very small.
14:47If the prosecution is unable to prove premeditated murder, it's possible that Pistorius would be found guilty of the same charge and face up to 15 years in prison.
15:00The tragedy triggered an emotional debate about self-defense and vigilantism in South Africa.
15:07Official statistics showed that although violent crime was stabilizing or decreasing, more than 20,000 South Africans are still murdered every year.
15:19And the fear of crime was still rising, with 23 percent of people surveyed in a poll claiming to have been victims of crime during the year of the incident.
15:29Oscar Pistorius and Riva Steenkamp were one of the world's hot couples.
15:34Think David and Victoria or Brad and Angelina.
15:38But now the Paralympic superstar runner is accused of murdering his bombshell cover girl on Valentine's Day.
15:47As the case of the Blade Runner circulated the global news and media, more comparisons were drawn between Pistorius and Steenkamp.
15:56More comparisons were drawn between Pistorius and other sports stars turned criminals.
16:03The narrative that his crime was intentional was believed by more and more people when placed beside other notorious sporting criminals.
16:13Oscar's ego and narcissism was suddenly drawn into question.
16:18Troubling relationships and sketchy incidents with firearms from his past were now being used as evidence against him.
16:27Had the fame and success of being a sporting legend gone to his head?
16:34So it's those three middle lanes. Oscar in four, Blake Leeper in five, Arnifuri in six.
16:41Paralympics London 2012.
16:44And we are about to see the greatest Paralympian ever. And is this going to be the moment when he gets gold?
16:58And off they go. And it's a great start for Arnifuri.
17:02Oscar Pistorius has already gone past Blake Leeper. It's the two South Africans in the lead. And here goes Pistorius. Look at him go. Oscar Pistorius.
17:10Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, the first amputee athlete to compete in the Olympics, was born on November 22nd, 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
17:22His family, while prominent in South Africa, lived a largely middle class lifestyle.
17:29As described in his 2008 autobiography, Blade Runner, Pistorius was born in November 1986 with no fibula in either leg and deformed feet,
17:41prompting parents Hank and Sheila to make the difficult decision to have his legs amputated below the knee at 11 months old.
17:48My mother said to us in the morning, Cole, who's my brother, she said, you know, Cole, you put on your shoes and Oscar, you put on your prosthetic legs,
17:56and that's the last I want to hear about it. So I grew up not really thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes.
18:03Pistorius' own physical health was marred at birth. The perceived handicap to some was hardly a hindrance to the energetic toddler,
18:13who eagerly took his first pair of prosthetic legs at 17 months.
18:18Spurred by parents who refused to accept excuses, my brother, my sister and I were brought up with one iron rule.
18:27No one was allowed to say, I can't, he wrote.
18:31The energy that you put in, the energy return is less than what you put in at the end of the day.
18:36Pistorius plunged himself into activities like hiking, bike riding, wrestling and water skiing.
18:42Well, I'd grown up competing against kids in my neighborhood at school, so I mean, I never saw a difference between disability and ability.
18:50I just kind of, you know, played sports.
18:52Not that his childhood was devoid of difficulties. Pistorius' childhood was shaped partly by tragedy.
19:00Hank and Sheila divorced when Pistorius was six years old, and he was 15 when his beloved mother died from an allergic reaction to medication.
19:08Pistorius also suffered a serious knee injury at 16 while playing rugby.
19:14But this setback came with a sparkly silver lining.
19:18As doctors suggested, he take up running as part of his rehabilitation.
19:23Oscar Pistorius regularly blurs the line between able-bodied and disabled as he races along on his carbon fiber legs.
19:30Not that the young South African cares for that word disabled.
19:33And for that reason he believes, despite having no limbs below the knees, that he should be allowed to compete in the Olympics.
19:41If you haven't heard of Oscar Pistorius yet, you won't be able to miss him by the time the Paralympics roll into town next year.
19:48Not least because he's trying his level best to qualify to compete against able-bodied athletes too at the Olympics.
19:56Yeah, I'll be doing both.
19:57I've had a really good start to my domestic season in South Africa.
20:02I ran a B qualification time for the Olympic Games.
20:05So I'll be using this season as a stepping stone and hopefully World Championships later this year in order to make sure that when I step out in the stadium it's both here for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.
20:16But the world of athletics is divided over this, with critics claiming those carbon fiber blades, called cheetahs after the animal,
20:24give him an unfair advantage, lengthening his stride and giving him extra spring.
20:30They don't make me taller. My arm length is 189 centimeters, my legs are 187, my heart.
20:36So I'm still within two centimeters of my ring. They don't have any spring loads or anything like that.
20:42Coach Ampi Lau is dismissive. There is no advantage, he says. No extra spring, no extra stride, no extra height.
20:50I will challenge anybody in the world to go for the extra length and the springs and they will not get away. That I promise them.
20:59The more spring you give, the more difficult it gets for the brain to work with that.
21:04The best thing about Oscar, when he trains and when he does, he stays humble. And I think that's his success.
21:12Hard work and dedication and talent that he's got, he just put it together nicely.
21:19Oscar, now age 21, was born with crucial bones missing. At the age of one he had both legs amputated below the knee.
21:26Oscar, now age 21, was born with crucial bones missing. At the age of one he had both legs amputated below the knee.
21:33But from the moment he could walk, he's approached life at a run.
21:37On July 4, 2012, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, SASCOC, announced that Pistorius had been included in the Olympic team for the 400 meter and the four times 400 meters relay races.
21:56And very quickly out of the blocks, Pistorius. He's absolutely haired out of the blocks. But Pistorius has the lead.
22:04Can the Brazilian keep his form around the second button? But Pistorius is going away.
22:10He's putting distance between himself and Oliveira. And Oscar Pistorius, the greatest Paralympic athlete of all time, is going to take this gold medal.
22:20And Oscar Pistorius, the greatest Paralympic athlete of all time, is going to take this gold medal.
22:26He's in a different league and Oliveira is tying up. People are standing up, cheering, flashlights going all around the stadium.
22:34And Oscar Pistorius is the Paralympic champion of 2012 in London.
22:41At the 2012 Summer Olympic Game on August 4, 2012, Pistorius became the debut amputee runner to complete an Olympic Games.
22:53In the 400 meter race, he took second place in the first heat of five runners, finishing with a time of 45.44 seconds, his best time that season, to advance to the semifinals on August 5.
23:07He ran in the second semifinal, where he finished eighth and last, with a time of 46.54 seconds.
23:15Over the next few years, Pistorius' international celebrity was cemented, thanks to features in leading publications like Time, GQ and People.
23:26And the media have sort of labeled the Paralympic athletes as superhumans. How do you feel about that then? How do you feel about that label? Is it putting too much pressure on you, possibly?
23:38No, not at all. Not only on myself, but I think every athlete is a superhuman and they're great performers.
23:44I've watched some of the performances over the previous Paralympic Games and some of the performances in the Olympic Games.
23:50And sometimes you expect something of an athlete and when they compete, you're actually just left completely speechless.
23:56You're just like, wow, that was absolutely amazing. How did he do it? And that is superhuman.
24:01Though, a few behind the scenes incidents suggested that trouble was lurking below the surface.
24:08The world saw Oscar as a charming, soft-hearted fighter, but those who knew him say he had a short temper and was often paranoid about his safety.
24:20South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Just a few months ago, Pistorius tweeted about possible break-ins and how he would react.
24:29Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking it's an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry.
24:38Pistorius crashed a boat in 2009, which severely injured him. Empty alcohol bottles were found on board, but the Paralympian never faced charges.
24:49Some believe that not much information was offered up about the incident because Oscar's management team wanted to cover it up to ensure that his reputation remained unscathed.
25:00However, this wasn't the only time the Blade Runner put his career and reputation at risk, as well as being charged for murder.
25:10Pistorius was also charged with two other gun-related charges, including illegal possession of ammunition and illegally firing a gun in public.
25:20He denied all the charges. The first alleged that he recklessly shot his gun out of the open sunroof of a car the previous year,
25:29and the second that he fired someone else's handgun at a restaurant a few weeks before he shot and killed Steenkamp.
25:40His former girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, testified that the sunroof incident occurred when Pistorius became angry after he was stopped for speeding by a police officer.
25:52She said Pistorius kept his gun with him all the time and that he could get very angry.
25:59He would be angry or irritated. He would argue with people. He would shout at his friends or family.
26:07Did you ever feel frightened?
26:09I think any girl that's shouted at feels frightened.
26:14The second incident occurred roughly a month prior to the killing, when the 27-year-old athlete was at a crowded restaurant with three friends, including boxer Kevin Lorena, when a gun went off.
26:25One friend, Darren Fresco, passed the gun to Pistorius under the table and told him that there was a bullet in the chamber.
26:34Soon after, a shot was fired. The bullet blasted a hole in the marble floor and left Lorena's toe bleeding.
26:43Although this was likely a complete accident, it drew more attention to Pistorius' relationship with firearms.
26:50Months before he killed his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius said he drew his gun and went into combat mode after thinking he heard the noise of an intruder at his home, which turned out to be a washing machine.
27:05A South African gun expert testified at the athlete's murder trial.
27:11Sean Renz also said Pistorius wanted to buy seven more guns in 2012 to add to the 9mm pistol he already owned for self-defense and asked the firearm trainer to procure them for him under a gun collector's permit.
27:28The order was cancelled after Pistorius shot dead girlfriend Reva Steenkamp in early 2013.
27:35The remaining two guns were contained on a second invoice, the firearm dealer said.
27:41Renz said the double amputee runner had a great love and enthusiasm for guns.
27:47City Press reports multiple police sources have said that a bloody cricket bat will be a key piece of evidence possibly used in a violent argument before the shooting.
27:58That Steenkamp was wearing a nightgown and her overnight bag was found at the house.
28:02That Pistorius may have first shot Steenkamp in the bedroom and that she may have then fled to the bathroom where she was shot three more times through the door.
28:12Hey guys, I'm Reva and I'm...
28:14Reva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius seemed like the kind of couple dreams are made of.
28:20It was the story of a man who had overcome incredible disability and then met an incredibly talented, beautiful woman and fell in love.
28:29Hi, I'm Oscar's date tonight.
28:32He needed a date at the last minute.
28:34So he's like, Reva, just throw your stuff together and come and be my date.
28:38Reva Rebecca Steenkamp was a South African model and paralegal.
28:44She modeled for FHM magazine and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa.
28:51After university, Steenkamp worked as a paralegal and as a model.
28:55She applied to the bar in late 2011 and hoped to be a qualified legal advocate by the age of 30.
29:04That looks easier than what it is.
29:07I'm hurting in places that I never knew existed.
29:13Steenkamp began modeling at the age of 14.
29:17She was a finalist in the weekend post-faces of the future competition, the FHM magazine.
29:23She was a finalist in the weekend post-faces of the future competition in 2004 and in the Harold Miss Port Elizabeth contest in 2005.
29:31Like long-term friendships that you think will come out of this?
29:35I think going into it, I knew a lot of people being in the same industry.
29:39But coming out of it, I made some really amazing friends.
29:42People that I would literally put my life on the line for.
29:45Some amazing, amazing people.
29:47I'm at the Lady Gaga concert.
29:49I wasn't going to come and then I got roped in two days ago.
29:52So I had to kind of like throw something together.
29:56And this is what I came up with.
29:58And yeah, I thought this was going to be the craziest outfit, but really it's not.
30:02I've seen some insane things today.
30:04Are you a big Gaga fan?
30:13Yeah, it's crazy out here.
30:15She appeared in FHM magazine as a model and cover girl and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa.
30:23She also modeled for the jewelry company Savannah Diamonds.
30:28Ambitious, beautiful and politically aware.
30:32Steenkamp was a keen horse rider until she broke her back in a fall in her early 20s and had to learn to walk again.
30:41On the South African celebrity circuit, she was a regular A-list guest at red carpet events and a noted socialite on the Johannesburg party scene.
30:51Do I prefer a clean-shaven man or the rugged camel man?
30:56I'd probably go for the rugged guy.
31:00I don't like a man who takes longer than me in the bathroom to get ready.
31:04Riva had previously dated Springbok rugby player Francois Hogard and then began dating Pistorius in November 2012.
31:13The couple's first date was on November 4, 2012, when Pistorius took Riva to the South African Sports Awards.
31:21Oscar's a very, very sexy boy, but he doesn't do it in an arrogant, obnoxious way.
31:26He does it in a very classy, understated way.
31:28He always has a good, simple suit on.
31:30Yeah, he's a gentleman.
31:33Pistorius and Steenkamp had only been dating for three months when she was shot.
31:39Pete Van Zyl, Pistorius' agent, testified that Pistorius was in a loving and caring relationship with Steenkamp.
31:47Van Zyl described the sprinter as hyper-vigilant and said he rarely lost his temper.
31:54On March 24, the court heard testimony about messages sent on iPhones between Pistorius and Steenkamp using WhatsApp.
32:0490% of them were described as loving and normal, but there were a few from Steenkamp accusing Pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness.
32:15In one of them, sent less than three weeks before her killing, Steenkamp told Pistorius,
32:21I'm scared of you sometimes, of how you snap at me, and described his behavior as nasty.
32:30After eight months on trial, this might be the last time that Oscar Pistorius leaves here a free man.
32:37On Tuesday night, it might be the bars of Pretoria prison that he's behind.
32:43Over here, all the police are reacting and here he is.
32:47Mr. Pistorius, will you be appealing to the constitutional court?
32:51Pistorius said he killed Steenkamp by accident before dawn on February 14, 2013,
32:59shooting her through a toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder in his home.
33:05Prosecutors say he killed her intentionally after an argument and also questioned Renz on Pistorius' firearm training.
33:12Whether or not Oscar and Riva had been arguing on the night of the murder was another point of contention during the trial.
33:21Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has been used to facing the cameras, but not like this.
33:28The world's most famous double amputee is coming to terms with his catastrophic fall from grace, from sporting hero to murder suspect.
33:37The 26-year-old is charged with murdering his girlfriend Riva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day at his Pretoria home,
33:45to the shock and disbelief of his fans.
33:48I'm just shocked at the moment. Like, did he really do it?
33:52Because the kind of person we thought he was from what we saw on TV was something different.
33:58Yet as more details have emerged, public opinion has hardened.
34:02The week-long bail hearing revealed that Pistorius killed his girlfriend by firing four shots through a locked toilet door.
34:09Many struggled to believe it was an accident, and they're disappointed he got bail.
34:14What we've seen is that money, when you have money, for instance in this country, you can be out, you can buy anything, you can buy your way out.
34:25Whether South Africa's legal system is flawed or not, Pistorius has now become a symbol of the country's ills,
34:32rampant gun crime and aggression towards women.
34:36Violence surrounds the case, with revelations that both the lead detective and Oscar's brother face charges for previous separate incidents.
34:45We still have many thousands of people every year being murdered as a result of firearms.
34:51Many of those take place in homes, and every year there are incidents where people shoot people that they don't need to shoot
34:57because they think they're burglars or intruders, and often people killing each other in the crimes of passion
35:02where if they didn't have the gun in their house, they would have murdered that loved one of theirs.
35:06As the world comes to terms with its fallen hero, it's looking to the courts for justice.
35:11There are no trials by jury in South Africa, so Pistorius' fate will be decided by a judge,
35:17but the country's soul-searching will go on much longer.
35:28At times today, the questioning by Pistorius' defence team was persistent and combative,
35:34and it will continue tomorrow as they attempt to show that the evidence against Pistorius
35:38is not beyond reasonable doubt.
35:47It's become a daily routine. It seems a lot of tears, a lot of time out,
35:53but one does sense that the mood in South Africa is starting to shift.
35:59The weekend papers were full of suggestions that even if the court battle is won,
36:03the PR war may have already been lost.
36:33At the end of the day, he is a human being.
37:03When he was given that sentence, he has followed all the procedures, the protocols,
37:10and they are saying he's going through the rehabilitation, he's going to sit house arrest,
37:17and then do community service.
37:20So to a certain extent, we don't blame Pistorius, but we blame the justice.
37:25Open up! Open up!
37:31For the defendant himself, just telling his story was difficult enough,
37:36and in the coming days that story will be scrutinised in court
37:41as prosecutors seek to dismantle his account of what happened.
37:46So here, instead of just dealing with the facts of the details of what took place
37:51on the shooting on the night in question, we're now dealing with somebody
37:55who can be shown to the court as an irresponsible firearm owner,
37:58who somebody has no respect for the law, of somebody who when he does something wrong,
38:02he gets other people to take the blame for him, because that's what they claim
38:05happened to the Tash.
38:07I think on the face of it, the public perception, he certainly wasn't vulnerable,
38:10but that might have been very different for those closest to him.
38:12But it doesn't appear they'd done anything about it.
38:15You've got the celebrity, not just in athletics.
38:18He was a good-looking young man.
38:20He had a beautiful young blonde woman on his arm.
38:22He was on the red carpet at all sorts of events.
38:25So there was that aspect to it.
38:27So it wasn't just the sport.
38:29It was celebrity, it was big money, fast cars, and of course throwing the firearm.
38:32And you've just got this incredible story.
38:35This is a global story, and I think people from all over the world,
38:38if they can't get to a television, they're following people on Twitter,
38:40and this is, everyone wants to find out the latest.
38:43And we saw this through the bail application, we saw it through the trial,
38:46and we're definitely going to see it on Thursday.
38:48I'm pretty sure a lot of people, people, you know, there's been criticism
38:51from bosses about the loss of productivity to Facebook and social media.
38:55I think the Oscar trial will be the loss of productivity on Thursday and Friday.
38:59There's almost no doubt about it.
39:01People will be glued to their televisions around the world.
39:04I'm just shocked that it's the same as everybody else.
39:07But my aim is, you know, to come out here and just concentrate on my race.
39:10You don't want to wish on anyone, but it's what it is, I guess.
39:15We know Oscar's version of what happened at that tragic night.
39:27And we know that that is the truth,
39:31and that will prevail in the coming court cases.
39:34Even though I don't want to hurt him in any way, he's got to face the truth.
39:40And if the truth can come out in this way, then it's a good thing.
39:45It's kind of, it's, it's, it's Riva justice for Riva.
39:53Prosecution tried to show that Pistorius and Steenkamp were heard arguing prior to the shooting.
39:59The state's first witness, Michelle Berger, lived 100 meters away from Pistorius' house,
40:06but claimed to hear Steenkamp screaming from behind the closed toilet door.
40:11Acoustic engineer Ivan Lin tested that tests suggested that if Steenkamp was screaming in Pistorius' toilet,
40:20it was very unlikely that the screams would be audible or intelligible from 100 meters away.
40:26And that although we can typically distinguish male and female screams,
40:31you cannot do so reliably without exception.
40:36But those who know Pistorius just can't believe he's a murderer.
40:41I can't, for the life of me, see any, any anger in him that would create a premeditated murder charge.
40:48But, you know, we need to get the facts on the, on the table.
40:51I'll still support him because I know Oscar for who he, he were when he was training, always here and always very humble.
40:57Pistorius' lawyer, Barry Rue, suggested to Michelle Berger that Pistorius was so upset,
41:04his voice became high-pitched and that he sounded like a woman when he screamed.
41:09Rue also said that he had never heard Steenkamp scream before.
41:13That Pistorius was so upset, his voice became high-pitched and that he sounded like a woman when he screamed.
41:20Rue also said it was impossible for Steenkamp to have cried out after the shots
41:26because she was shot in the head and had brain damage.
41:44Pistorius had indeed shouted those words, get out of my house, but not at a burglar, at Rue Versteenkamp.
41:51Confronted Pistorius over concerns that his love of fast cars and guns put her daughter in danger.
41:58A number of other witnesses also claimed they heard a woman's screams and gunshots on the night Steenkamp died.
42:06The defense cross-examined these witnesses, attempting to establish that, in fact,
42:12this was Pistorius who had shot Steenkamp in the head.
42:17The defense also claimed that Steenkamp had shot her in the head.
42:21The defense cross-examined these witnesses, attempting to establish that, in fact,
42:26this was Pistorius screaming for help and that the explosive sounds
42:31came from the door to the toilet being battered down.
42:43We're going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister
42:47and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better.
42:53We know with her love it's in our hearts and it's going to stay in our hearts forever
42:57and that's something nobody will ever take from us.
43:02An angel, she was an angel, she was so soft, so innocent, such a lovely person
43:08and it's just sad that this could happen to somebody so good.
43:12Vibrant, amazing soul, strong personality, strong will.
43:18We hope that they regard her as my daughter.
43:22She is also the child of Africa.
43:25She has transcended so many language barriers
43:29and you could hear from her friends, you could speak Xhosa
43:34and that is why I am here. I feel my soul also will be at rest.
43:40They can't continue to kill. Riva is an angel.
43:44She's a hero of the society and of the nation.
43:48She can't be killed. She can't be killed.
43:52We can't continue to have this all the time.
43:57Not in our name.
43:59Men must organise themselves.
44:02We are here to die as a family.
44:04But it's only one thing missing, it's Riva.
44:09We've got together, but we've missed one.
44:14And I think I'll never...
44:17I will get over that with the Lord's praise.
44:21And the statement that she stood for,
44:24about abuse against women,
44:27that was echoed so much in the months that she had mentioned
44:31that she would like to have been an activist for that.
44:36And unfortunately it swung right around,
44:39but I think that the Lord knows her statement is more powerful now
44:43than what she was activating previously.
45:02Another immediate neighbour testified that she heard a man crying,
45:07describing the sounds as a cry of pain.
45:11The argument was bolstered on May 6th
45:14by a married couple who lived next to Pastorius' house,
45:18testifying that both heard a man crying loudly
45:22in a high-pitched voice and calling three times for help.
45:26These statements,
45:27were used to destroy the image of romantic bliss
45:31and suggested that Pastorius had a motive for Steenkamp's murder.
45:35But the question is, were these statements credible?
45:39What could the couple have been arguing about
45:42that could have led to murder on Valentine's Day?
45:46According to Pastorius, they were deeply in love.
45:50At times today, the questioning by Pastorius
45:53his defence team was persistent and combative,
45:57and it will continue tomorrow as they attempt to show
46:01that the evidence against him is not beyond reasonable doubt.
46:07At the trial, Pastorius' neighbour, John Stipp, a radiologist,
46:12testified that he found Pastorius praying over Steenkamp's body
46:16when he went over to help,
46:19after being woken by what he had heard.
46:22Stipp testified that the first thing he remembered Pastorius saying
46:26when he saw him was,
46:29I shot her, I thought she was a burglar, I shot her.
46:33Johan Stander, manager of the estate where Pastorius lived,
46:37testified that Pastorius called at 3.18 a.m. saying,
46:41Please, please come to my house, I shot her.
46:45Johan Stander, manager of the estate where Pastorius lived,
46:48testified that Pastorius called at 3.18 a.m. saying,
46:52Please, please come to my house, I shot Riva,
46:56I thought she was an intruder, please come quick.
47:00He went with his daughter and found Pastorius coming down the stairs
47:04with Steenkamp in his arms.
47:07He was broken, he was screaming, he was crying, he was praying.
47:11I saw the truth that morning, he said.
47:14He loved out of his hands, so he's going to be repenting
47:18for the rest of his life, he's got a terrible life to live with.
47:22So within this confined luxury, Oscar Pastorius is scheduled
47:26to spend the next four years still dividing opinion
47:30between those who believe he deserves a second chance
47:34and others who contend that money and skin color
47:38can still buy privilege in this country.
47:41Thabo Nkosi served six years, more than half his sentence
47:45for armed robbery, some in the same jail as Pastorius.
47:49It's really unfair. If you don't have money, like poor people,
47:53poor guys that are still in prison right now, then you're rotting in jail.
48:03The judge can order that some of the arrest or some of the detention
48:07be under house arrest, so he's not out on parole.
48:11On the 21st of August, he's had his sentence then converted
48:15to a house arrest sentence, where he's now confined to a house
48:19for a period until he's actually paroled.
48:23So as part of our sentencing procedures here, the court can give
48:27a full house arrest, a full detention or a combination of both.
48:31This just happens to be a combination of both.
48:35So the former Olympic athlete will remain a guest of his uncle
48:38and his apartment is next to the swimming pool.
48:42I imagine he'll be staying at Uncle Arnie's house, which is a
48:46multimillion-rand mansion in Pretoria. Maybe staying at my house
48:50would be a little bit more difficult and not quite as comfortable.
48:54But at Uncle Arnie's house, certainly there'll be a lot more space,
48:58it'll be a nice garden, a nice pool. He won't be able to leave the premises,
49:02which I'm sure will become quite difficult. He's also checked on
49:05the parole's board to ensure that he's not breaking the parole's rules,
49:09he's not leaving the premises, he's not allowed to have parties or be drinking.
49:13So they'll confine him to essentially what he would be doing in prison,
49:17but in the confines of his own house. I suppose the food might be better,
49:21but besides that, it's relatively difficult.
49:25The family is happy that Oscar's home, but they want to make the point
49:29that Oscar's sentence continues. And that is the key point here.
49:33His sentence isn't shortened, it hasn't been reduced,
49:37he continues to serve his sentence.
49:45This is a bail application, it's not a trial.
49:49And we hope and trust that justice will prevail.
49:53And it's still a very sad time for us, because we need to remember
49:57that somebody did lose their life.
50:00And our hearts and thoughts and prayers just go out to the Steenkamp family.
50:04Thank you very much.
50:08As I said, we're still very sad.
50:12She was an amazing person. Amazing. Thank you.
50:18Throughout the court proceedings, Pistorius had numerous emotional outbursts,
50:23including crying, howling and vomiting.
50:27I wasn't sure if somebody was going to come out of the toilet to attack me.
50:31I wasn't sure if someone was going to come up the ladder
50:35and point a firearm in the house and start shooting.
50:41So I just stayed where I was and I kept on screaming.
50:48And then I heard a noise from inside the toilet.
50:52But I perceived to be somebody coming out of the toilet.
50:57Before I knew it, I'd fired four shots at the door.
51:02Masipa temporarily adjourned proceedings to allow him to calm down.
51:07Yvette Van Schalwick, a social worker and probation officer,
51:11was assigned to Pistorius after he shot dead his girlfriend.
51:15She was taken to the hospital.
51:18She was assigned to Pistorius after he shot dead his girlfriend.
51:22She testified that he was heartbroken and genuinely sorry
51:26for what Reva Steenkamp's parents were going through.
51:30She said that in February 2013, she sat with him in the cells
51:34during his bail appearance, where he vomited twice
51:38and cried 80 percent of the time.
51:42She said he was in mourning, suffering emotionally,
51:45but she told her he missed Steenkamp a great deal.
51:49He loved her. He couldn't think what her parents must be going through, she said.
51:54However, Prosecutor Jerry Nell, known as a bull terrier
51:58for his aggressive interrogations,
52:02claimed Pistorius hadn't shown any remorse
52:06and accused Pistorius of getting emotional in court
52:10because you're getting frustrated because your version of events is improbable.
52:14I fired in the direction where I thought the attack was coming from.
52:18You see, Mr. Pistorius, you now have to give a lot of answers.
52:24And you know why, Mr. Pistorius?
52:27It's because you know exactly.
52:30You fired at Reva.
52:33These other versions of yours cannot work.
52:36You fired at her. You did.
52:39Why are you getting emotional now?
52:44I did not fire at Reva.
52:48Lady, the witness is emotional.
52:52May we take an adjournment again?
52:55Pistorius was cross-examined about his version of the events for five days.
53:00On the 12th of September 2014,
53:04Judge Thokasil Masipa delivered a verdict
53:08that Pistorius was not guilty of murder,
53:10but guilty of the culpable homicide of Steenkamp
53:14and reckless endangerment with a firearm at a restaurant.
53:18In terms of the conviction, justice has been done,
53:21but we're saying he was actually convicted on a lesser charge.
53:25And he should have been murdered.
53:28That is our contention.
53:30On the 21st of October 2014,
53:33he was sentenced to a maximum of five years for culpable homicide
53:37with a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence
53:41for reckless endangerment.
53:43Oscar Pistorius, driven away from court
53:46to begin a five-year prison sentence for the culpable homicide
53:49of his girlfriend, Reva Steenkamp.
53:52During a 67-minute statement,
53:55Judge Masipa looked to strike a balance
53:57between punishment and rehabilitation,
53:59dismissing defense claims that the disabled athlete
54:02would face particular suffering in prison.
54:05There's a delicate balance between the crime, the criminal,
54:08and the interest of society.
54:12The extent of the negligence in culpable homicide cases
54:16plays an important role in coming to an appropriate sentence
54:21which should neither be too severe nor too light.
54:26And as the sentence was handed down,
54:28no reaction from the star sprinter.
54:31Count one.
54:34Culpable homicide.
54:37The sentence imposed is a maximum imprisonment
54:41of five years imposed in terms of section 276.
54:47One I of the Criminal Procedure Act,
54:51number 51 of 1977.
54:55The prosecution has called for 10 years in jail.
54:58The defense pleaded for house arrest and community service.
55:00The families of both Reva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius
55:04seem satisfied with the compromise.
55:07Excuse me, do you feel that justice was served today?
55:09It was.
55:11You're happy with the sentence?
55:14We accept the judgment.
55:18Oscar will embrace this opportunity
55:22to pay back to society.
55:26Neither the defense nor prosecution
55:27have decided whether to appeal the sentence.
55:30But for now, the trial that has galvanized South Africa
55:33and TV audiences around the world for nearly a year
55:36has finally come to rest.
55:39During a private parole board session
55:41at Adder Ridgeville Prison in Pretoria on November 24th,
55:45it was decided that Pistorius would be released
55:48on January 5th, 2024.
55:51Upon his release,
55:53he will be required to undergo anger management therapy
55:55and remain under close supervision.
55:58He won't be permitted to leave the Waterkloof area
56:01where he'll reside with family for a duration of five years.
56:05Parole placement for Mr. Oscar Pistorius
56:08has been confirmed,
56:10effectively from the 5th of January, 2024.
56:14What will happen from now until the month of January, 2024
56:20will be what we call a pre-release program.
56:22That's where an inmate is prepared for life
56:26outside of a correctional facility.
56:29Just like all other parolees, Mr. Pistorius
56:32will be monitored by our officials
56:35based within the system of country corrections.
56:38And that will happen until such time
56:41that his sentence expires.
56:43Because we always make it a point
56:45that parole placement does not mean the end of a sentence.
56:49June Steenkamp, Riva's mother,
56:50opted not to be present at the hearing,
56:53citing she cannot muster the energy
56:56to face him again at this stage.
56:58Yet, she delivered a poignant victim impact statement in court,
57:03expressing her forgiveness toward him.
57:05However, she mentioned her disbelief
57:08in Pistorius' account of the events
57:10leading to her daughter's death.
57:15This parole board session
57:17marked Pistorius' second attempt
57:18at securing freedom
57:20following an earlier hearing in March,
57:23which inaccurately deemed him ineligible
57:26for early release due to an error
57:28concerning the commencement of his prison sentence.
57:31According to South African regulations,
57:34serious offenders must serve
57:36at least half of their sentence
57:38to be considered for parole,
57:40a requirement that Pistorius has now fulfilled.
57:44It is likely that Pistorius' application
57:46for release was helped by Ms. Steenkamp's decision
57:49not to oppose parole.
57:51Her husband, Barry, Riva's father,
57:54died earlier this year.
57:56In her victim impact statement, she wrote,
57:59I do not believe Oscar's version
58:02that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar.
58:05In fact, I do not know anybody who does.
58:11My dearest child screamed for her life
58:13loud enough for the neighbors to hear her.
58:16I do not know what gave rise to his choice
58:19to shoot through a closed door four times
58:22at somebody with hollow point ammunition
58:25when I believe he knew it was Riva.
58:27When I believe he knew it was Riva.
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