Key Points
- Oscar Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February 2013.
- The subsequent murder trial and appeals became a media frenzy, with millions watching live on television.
- Pistorius is out on parole as of 5 January 2024.
On 14 February 2013, Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, firing four times through a locked bathroom door of his home in Pretoria, South Africa.
The next day he was charged with murder.
Pistorius is set to be released on parole in South Africa on Friday after serving half of his 13-year sentence.
Here is a basic timeline of the events that saw the Paralympic champion become a convicted murderer.
2014
Pistorius' seven-month murder trial begins, attracting a media frenzy over the Paralympic champion's defence in court, which played out live on television.
The double amputee athlete — dubbed "Blade Runner" due to his carbon-fibre leg prosthesis — tells the court that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder, and it wasn't until he broke down the bathroom door with a cricket bat that he realised who was inside.
Prosecutors allege he shot and killed the model and law graduate Steenkamp after an argument caused her to flee and hide in the bathroom.
Ballistic experts tell the court the hollow point bullets fired from the athlete's 9mm pistol were designed to "cut through the organs of a human being".
On 12 September, Pistorius is charged with "culpable homicide", avoiding the more serious charge of murder.
"Culpable homicide" is categorised as unintentional but still unlawful killing, comparable to manslaughter.
He begins his five-year jail sentence on 21 October.
Reeva Steenkamp was remembered as a promising law graduate and model. Source: Getty / Gallo Images
2015
Pistorius' bid to have prosecutors blocked from appealing his conviction of "culpable homicide" instead of murder is struck down by a high court judge on 13 March.
His expected release on parole is blocked by South Africa's justice minister on 19 August, due to mass public outcry. The athlete had only served 10 months of his five-year sentence.
Two months later on 19 October, Pistorius is released on house arrest to serve the rest of his sentence at his uncle's home in a wealthy suburb of Pretoria.
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal overturns the lower judge's conviction of "culpable homicide" and finds Pistorius guilty of murder on 3 December.
2016
Pistorius is sent back to prison on 6 July for six years. Prosecutors had been seeking the 15-year minimum term.
2017
On 24 November the Supreme Court of Appeal more than doubles Pistorius' sentence to 13 years and five months, after accepting the prosecution's argument that the original sentence was "shockingly lenient".
2023
After serving half of his 13-year sentence, Pistorius has a hearing on 31 March where he is denied parole by prison authorities who claim he has not served the minimum detention period required.
However, that is challenged in October by the Constitutional Court, which rules that he has completed the detention period required, making him eligible for parole.
The Department of Correctional Services notifies the public in November that Pistorius will be released on parole on 5 January 2024.
- - With additional reporting by Reuters
