Oscar Pistorius: Track Star on Trial (2024) FULL TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY w/ SUBS | HD

- Let's get right to the latest on Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic hero accused now of murder. This nation woke up on Thursday morning to news that Olympic and Paralympic champion, Oscar Pistorius, had shot and killed his girlfriend in his home in Pretoria. - Good morning, Amy. As Oscar Pistorius spends his fifth day in the South African jail, police sources are leaking incriminating information from media, including new claims that him may have been using steroids. - The question for this single judge is not who did this, but why. There he goes. There's the man. Oscar Pistorius. - Oscar Pistorius has already gone past Blake Leeper. It's the two South Africans in the lead, and here it goes, Pistorius. Look at him go. Early Thursday morning neighbors, in his exclusive gated community, heard commotion and gunshots. {\an8}- At this stage, we came confirmed that a young woman, {\an8}a 30-year-old woman, did die on the scene, {\an8}of gunshot wounds. A 26-year-old male has been arrested and has been charged with murder. Police say Steenkamp was shot four times with a nine millimeter pistol. The murder shocked their fans around the world. People across South Africa followed the hearings, many desperate for more details. Mr. Pistorius, will you be appealing to the Constitutional Court? Here tonight, the new world for a world icon. The world's most famous Paralympian. After you fired the first shot, did she scream? Not, My Lady. - Are you sure? - Yes- - Would you have heard her? I don't think I would've heard her- - Exactly. - Because of the gunshot that went off, My Lady. My ears were ringing. - How can you exclude the fact that you were screaming if you couldn't hear? - What we've seen is that money, if you have money, for instance, in this country, you can be out, you can buy anything, you can buy your way out. And a humble, mild mannered icon of disabled sport until four cracks of his handgun and his bloody consequences revealed a different side to Oscar Pistorius. - Just to bring you an update of the incident that happened this morning, first of all, from the South African Police Services side, we can confirm that there was a shooting incident this morning at the home of the the well-known Paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius. At this stage, we can confirm that a young woman, a 30-year-old woman did die on the scene, of gunshot wounds. A 26-year-old male has been arrested and has been charged with murder. At this stage, he's on his way to a visit to the district surgeon for a medical examination, and he'll be appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate Court at two o'clock this afternoon. The trial commenced on the 3rd of March, 2014 in the High Court of Pretoria. There was no jury as the jury system in South Africa was abolished during the apartheid era. The trial was assigned to Judge Thokozile Masipa, who appointed two assessors: Janette Henzen-Du Toit and Themba Mazibuko, to help her evaluate the case and reach a verdict. In addition to the murder charge, Pistorius also faced a charge of illegal possession of ammunition and two charges of firing a gun in a public space. {\an8}The opening statement of prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, {\an8}noted that the murder case against Pistorius {\an8}was based largely on circumstantial evidence {\an8}as there were no eyewitnesses to the incident. {\an8}- The first count against the accused, {\an8}count one, is one of murder. {\an8}The accused that unlawfully and intentionally kill a person, {\an8}to it, Reeva Steenkamp, {\an8}a 29-year-old female. {\an8}Yes. {\an8}That is count one? - That's count one. {\an8}yes. {\an8}Do you understand the charges, Mr. Pistorius? {\an8}- I do. I do, My Lady. {\an8}How do you plead? {\an8}- Not guilty, My Lady. {\an8}The only witnesses who truly knew {\an8}what went on that night were Oscar and Reeva, {\an8}but only one of them was here to retell the story. So what were Oscar's versions of events? One of the world's most recognizable athletes on the planet right now, arrived at court under a blanket. A visibly humbled, Oscar Pistorius, faced the cameras again to hear the main police investigating officer say he didn't believe his explanation that he'd killed his girlfriend thinking she was a burglar. "If given bail," the policeman said, "the athlete would flee. He had an overseas account, a house in Italy and the money." Police officer Hilton Botha said there was no way the sprinter was acting in self-defense. Pistorius provided an affidavit to the court in which he stated the following, "By about 22 hours and zero minutes on the 13th of February, 2013, we were in our bedroom. She was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television. My prosthetic legs were off. After Reeva finished her yoga exercises, she got into bed and we both fell asleep. During the early morning hours of the 14th of February, 2013, I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and closed the sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains." At the trial, the defense said that Pistorius woke up because of the heat and humidity. Steenkamp was already awake and asked him if he was having trouble sleeping. Walking around on his stumps, Pistorius opened the balcony door and brought in a fan to try and cool the room down. While doing this, he heard a noise coming from the bathroom. He thought an intruder had broken into the house. He got his gun from under the bed and whispered to Steenkamp to call the police. "I heard a noise in the bathroom and realized that someone was in the bathroom." He continued, "I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on. I grabbed my nine millimeter pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom, I screamed words to the effect of him or them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitched dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed. I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realized that the intruder was in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door. It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruders came out of the toilet, we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps. I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond. And I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitched dark in the bedroom, and I was still too scared to switch on a light. When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door, but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door, exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help." Pistorius then returned to the bathroom, calling out for Reeva, as he did so, he said he tried to open the toilet door but couldn't because it was locked. He then went back into the bedroom on his stumps, opened the balcony door, and started screaming for help. He put on his prosthetic legs and then tried to kick down the toilet door open. When that didn't work, he moved back to the bedroom to get his cricket bat. He used the bat to smash holes in the door. One of the door panels broke open enabling him to reach inside and open the door. He found Steenkamp alive slumped over the toilet. - "We have the statement of a person who said after he heard gunshots, he went to his balcony and saw the light was on, then he heard a female screaming two, three times, then more gunshots." The court was shown a floor plan of the bedroom, an en suite bathroom where the model was killed. "I believe he knew she was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door and killed her. One bullet cartridge was found outside the bathroom, three others inside. The shots went in a top to bottom trajectory suggesting Pistorius was wearing his artificial legs when he pulled the trigger." He said the location of the wounds on her body showed she was not using the toilet, but was hiding from Pistorius. But the defense said Reeva had an empty bladder, unlikely at 3:00 AM if she hadn't been to the toilet and she didn't have any defensive wounds. The court also heard that the policeman found testosterone steroids in a medical box. The defense has torn away at the state's case forcing the chief police investigating officer to admit he had failed to make basic checks. He had failed to check whether other calls for ambulances had been made on other phones other than the ones he seized. He had not checked that the medical box was a simple legal herbal remedy. And the witness that he relied on who said that she'd heard screams and an argument was some 600 meters away from the Pistorius household. That prompted gasps of disbelief here in the courtroom. Of course, Oscar's retelling of the night stirred up debate all over South Africa. South Africa's a country riddled with gun crime with four times more gun related homicides every year than the US, but with the fifth of the population. Keeping a firearm in the house for protection is seen as normal. And is estimated that there are 6 million privately owned guns, more than one for every 10 people. In a country with so many guns, it's inevitable that accidents will happen. - Okay, this is now a copper washed full metal jacket. We shot a full metal jacket of PMP. This is the Winchester Black Talon, Black Talon, T-A-L-O-N. What we've done is we filled the buckets up with water. You will see we shot it through a thin piece of wood to simulate the door through the plastic inside the water. What is noticeable immediately is you will see that the entrance are basically very close to each other. Because it's nine millimeter, the sizes of the entrance will be very close. But 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. Whereas on the normal full metal jacket, the bin just broke at the back. You'll see that there's like little cutouts in the front of the projectile, and that causes, as the the tissue actually goes inside, it actually breaks up and her opens up. And I'm gonna show you a little bit later what a fired Black Talon looks like. It makes like little claws, and it actually takes flesh and tissue and everything goes with it. That's why it's so devastating. A normal hollow point will just open up like a mushroom. This actually opens up and becomes like a, I can almost call it a bear claw that's gonna hit you. Ready? - One second. Five seconds. I'm up to speed. - You'll notice this was the front end of the projectile. It opened up. This part were closed up, so it actually opened up like I've explained, and it actually makes these little hooks and it takes the tissue and everything. That's what causes so much damage. Okay, load it. - Okay, what we've got here is a Glock 17 and Glock 27. The Glock 27 is just a different caliber, but the mechanism on the inside of the Glocks are all the same. Now, 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 depressed. In other words, if it needs to fire. Now, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna the firearm, we are gonna say that there's a cartridge inside the chamber. Now, it's loaded. Let's say the magazine is in, it's loaded. Now I can carry the firearm. It's got no other levers or safety catches or anything on the outside visible. The only thing that's got is this little lever. Now, if you look inside, you can actually see inside it actually pushes up. Now, if I miss that and I've just pushed the trigger, it won't go past, in other words, it won't fire. So how easy is it to accidentally fire one? Accidentally misfire? It's highly unlikely. It's very small. If 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. A tragedy triggered an emotional debate about self-defense and vigilantism in South Africa. Officials statistics showed that although violent crime was stabilizing or decreasing, more than 20,000 South Africans are still murdered every year and the fear of crime was still rising. What 23% of people surveyed in a poll claiming to have been victims of crime during the year of the incident. Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp were one of the world's hot couples. Think David and Victoria, or Brad and Angelina. But now the Paralympic superstar runner is accused of murdering his bombshell cover girl on Valentine's Day. As the case of the Blade Runners circulated the global news and media more comparisons were drawn between Pistorius and other sports stars turned criminals. The narrative that his crime was intentional was believed by more and more people when placed beside other notorious sporting criminals. Oscar's ego and narcissism was suddenly drawn into question. Troubling relationships and sketchy incidents with firearms from his past were now being used as evidence against him. Had the fame and success of being a sporting legend gone to his head? So it's those three middle lanes, Oscar in four, Blake Leeper in five, Arnu Fourie in six. Paralympics London 2012. And we are about to see the greatest Paralympian ever. And is this gonna be the moment when he gets gold? And off they go. And it's a great start for Arnu Fourie, but Oscar Pistorius has already gone past Blake Leeper. It's the two South Africans in the lead. And here it goes Pistorius. Look at him go. Oscar Pistorius absolutely- - Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, the first amputee athlete to compete in the Olympics, was born on November 22nd, 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His family, while prominent in South Africa, lived a largely middle class lifestyle. As described in his 2008 autobiography, "Blade Runner," Pistorius was born in November, 1986 with no fibula in either leg and deformed feet. - My 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 and 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. Prompting parents, Henke and Sheila, to make a difficult decision to have his legs amputated below the knee at 11 months old, Pistorius's own physical health was marred at birth. The perceived handicap to some was hardly a hindrance to the energetic toddler who eagerly took to his first pair of prosthetic legs at 17 months spurred by parents who refused to accept excuses. "My brother, my sister and I were brought up with one iron rule, No one was allowed to say I can't," he wrote. - The energy that you put in is, the energy return is less than what you put in at the end of the day. Pistorius plunged himself into activities like hiking, bike riding, wrestling and water skiing. - Well, I've grown up competing against kids in my neighborhood at school so I mean, I never saw a difference between disability and ability. I just kind of, you know, played sports. Not that his childhood was devoid of difficulties. Pistorius's childhood was shaped partly by tragedy. Henke and Sheila divorced when Pistorius was six years old. And he was 15 when his beloved mother died from an allergic reaction to medication. Pistorius also suffered a serious knee injury at 16 while playing rugby. But this setback came with a sparkly silver lining as doctors suggest that he take up running as part of his rehabilitation. Oscar Pistorius regularly blurs the line between able bodied and disabled as he races along on those carbon fiber legs. Not that the young South African cares for that word, disabled. And for that reason, he believes despite having no limbs below the knees, that he should be allowed to compete in the Olympics. - If 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, not least because he's trying his level best to qualify to compete against able-bodied athletes too at the Olympics. - Yeah, I'll be doing both. I've had a really good start to my domestic season in South Africa. I ran a B qualification time for the Olympic Games. So I'll be using the 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. But the world of athletics is divided over this with critics claiming those carbon fiber blades called cheaters after the animal give him an unfair advantage, lengthening his stride and giving him extra spring. - They don't make me taller. My arm length is one at nine centimeters. My legs are one at seven, my heart, so I'm still within two centimeters of my ring. They don't have any spring loads or anything like that. Coach Ampie Louw is dismissive. "There is no advantage," he says. "No extra spring, no extra stride, no extra height." - I 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. The more spring you give, the more difficult it gets for the brain to work with that. - The best thing about Oscar, when he trains and when he doesn't, he stays humble, and I think that's his success, yeah. Hard work, and dedication and talent and you've got, he just put it together nicely. - I just thought it was amazing that someone like us could actually race with able bodied people, so I wanted to sort of see if I could follow in his footsteps. Footsteps as a professional athlete that even a decade ago were unthinkable. - My first Paralympic games was in 2004 in Athens, and on the day of the biggest turnouts, I think we had 23,000 people. In Beijing we had just over 93,000 people. And I think it's definitely changed. Paralympic sports helped to change the perception that a lot of people have about disability. But in between changing those perceptions, there's always time to put one's feet up. Oscar now age 21, was born with crucial bones missing. At the age of one, he had both legs amputated below the knee. But from the moment he could walk, he's approached life at a run. On the 4th of July, 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 4 by 400 meter relay races. And very quickly out the block is Pistorius, he's absolutely head outta the block. But Pistorius has the lead. Can the Brazilian keep his former in the second bed? But Pistorius is going away. He's putting distance between himself and Oliveira. And Oscar Pistorius, the greatest Paralympic athlete of all time, he is gonna take this gold medal. He's in a different league, and Oliveira is tying up. People are standing up, cheering, flashlights going all around the stadium. And Oscar Pistorius is the Paralympic champion of 2012 in London. Silver for Blake Leeper. At the 2012 summer Olympic Games On 4th of August, 2012, Pistorius became the debut amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games. In 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 semi-finals on the 5th of August. He ran in the second semi-final where he finished eighth and last with a time of 46.54 seconds. Over the next few years, Pistorius's international celebrity was cemented, thanks to features in leading publications like "Time," "QG" and "People." - And 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? - Not at all. Well, not only on myself, but I think every athlete's a superhuman and they're great performers. I've watched some of the performances over the previous Paralympic Games and some of the performances in the Olympic Games, and sometimes you expect something of an athlete and when they compete, you actually just left completely speechless, like, you're just like, "Wow, that was absolutely amazing. How did he do it?" And that is superhuman. Though a few behind the scenes incidents suggested that trouble was lurking below the surface. The world saw Oscar as a charming softhearted fighter, but those who knew him say he had a short temper and was often paranoid about his safety. South 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. "Nothing 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." Pistorius crashed a boat in 2009, which severely injured him. Empty alcohol bottles were found on board, but the Paralympian never faced charges. Some believed 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. However, this wasn't the only time the Blade Runner put his career and reputation at risk. As well as being charged for murder, Pistorius was also charged with two other gun related charges, including illegal possession of ammunition and illegally firing a gun in public. He denied all the charges. When the 27-year-old athlete was at a crowded restaurant with three friends, including Boxer, Kevin Lerena, when a gun went off, one friend, Darren Fresco, passed his gun to Pistorius onto the table and told him that there was a bullet in the chamber. Soon after a shot was fired, the bullet blasted a hole in the marble floor and left Lerena's toe bleeding. Although this was likely a complete accident, it drew more attention to Pistorius's relationship with firearms. Months 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 in his home, which turned out to be a washing machine. A South African gun expert testified at the athlete's murder trial. Sean Rens also said Pistorius wanted to buy seven more guns in 2012 to add to the nine millimeter pistol he already owned for self-defense, and asked the firearm trainer to procure them for him under a gun collector's permit. The order was canceled after Pistorius shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in early 2013. "The remaining two guns were contained on a second invoice," the firearms dealer said. Rens said the double amputee runner had a great love and enthusiasm for guns. "City Press" reports that 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, that Steenkamp was wearing a nightgown and her overnight bag was found at the house, that 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. - Hey guys, I'm Reeva. Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius seemed like the kind of coupled dreams are made of. It was the story of a man who had overcome incredible disability and then met an incredibly talented, beautiful woman and fell in love. Hi, I'm Oscar's date tonight. He needed a date at the last minute, So he's like, "Reeva, just throw your stuff together and come and be my date, so." Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp was the South African model and paralegal. She modeled for "FHM Magazine" and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa. After university, Steenkamp worked as a paralegal and as a model. She applied to the Bar in late 2011 and hoped to be a qualified legal advocate by the age of 30. - That looks easier than what it is. I'm hurting in places that I never knew existed, so. Steenkamp began modeling at the age of 14. She was a finalist in "The Weekend Post" Faces of the Future competition in 2004, and in "The Harold" Miss Port Elizabeth contest in 2005. And then any, like, long-term branches that you think will come out of this? - I think going into it, I knew a lot of people being in the same industry, but coming out of it, I made some really amazing friends, people that I would literally put my life on the line for, some amazing, amazing people. I'm at the Lady Gaga concert, I wasn't gonna come and then I got roped in two days ago, so I had to kind of, like, throw something together and this is what I came up with. And, yeah, I thought this was gonna be the craziest outfit, but really it's not. I've seen some insane things today, so yeah. Cool, and are you a big Gaga fan? What are you look looking forward to hearing her sing tonight? Yaay. Yeah, it's crazy out here. She appeared in "FHM Magazine" as a model and covergirl and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa. She also modeled for the jewelry company, Savanna Diamonds. Ambitious, beautiful and politically aware. Steenkamp was a keen horse rider until she broke her back in a fall in her early 20s and had to learn to walk again. On 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. - Do I prefer a clean shaven man or the rugged camel man? Hmm, I'd probably go for the rugged guy. I don't like a man who takes longer than me in the bathroom to get ready, nah. Reeva had previously dated Springbok rugby player, Francois Hougaard, and then began dating Pistorius in November, 2012. The couple's first date was on November 4th, 2012 when Pistorius took Reeva to the South African Sports Awards. - Oscar's a very, very sexy boy, but he doesn't do it in like an arrogant, obnoxious way. He does it in a very classy, understated. He always has a good simple suit on. Yeah, is a gentleman. Pistorius and Steenkamp had only been dating for three months when she was shot. Peet Van Zyl, Pistorius's agent, testified that Pistorius was in a, quote, "loving and caring relationship with Steenkamp." Van Zyl described the sprinter as, quote, "hypervigilant," and said he rarely lost his temper. On the 24th of March, the court heard testimony about messages sent on iPhones between Pistorius and Steenkamp using WhatsApp. 90% of them were described as loving and normal, but there were a few from Steenkamp accusing Pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness. In one of them sent less than three weeks before her killing, Steenkamp told Pistorius, "I'm scared of you sometimes of how you snap at me," and described his behavior as nasty. After eight months on trial, This might be the last time that Oscar Pistorius leaves here a free man. On Tuesday night, it might be the bars of Pretoria prison that he's behind Over here, Juan. All the police are reacting. And here he is. Mr. Pastors, will you be appealing to the Constitutional Court? Right? Pistorius said he killed Steenkamp by accident before dawn on February 14th, 2013, shooting her through a toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder in his home. Prosecutors say he killed her intentionally after an argument, and also questioned Rens on pastor's firearm's training. Whether or not Oscar and Reeva had been arguing on the night of the murder was another point of contention during the trial. Olympic and Paralympic star, Oscar Pistorius, has been used to facing the cameras, but not like this. The world's most famous double amputee is coming to terms with his catastrophic fall from grace, from sporting hero to murder suspect. The 26-year-old is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine's Day at his Pretoria home to the shock and disbelief of his fans. - I'm just shocked at the moment, like, did he really do it? 'Cause the kind of person we thought he was from what we saw on TV, was something different. Yet as more details have emerged, public opinion has hardened. The week-long bail hearing revealed that Pistorius killed his girlfriend by firing four shots through a locked toilet door. Many struggled to believe it was an accident and they're disappointed he got bail. - What 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. Whether South Africa's legal system is flawed or not, Pistorius has now become a symbol of the country's ills, rampant gun crime and aggression towards women. Violence surrounds the case with revelations that both the lead detective and Oscar's brother face charges for previous separate incidents. - We still have many thousands of people every year being murdered as a result of firearms. And many of this take place in homes and every year there are incidents where people shoot people that they don't need to shoot because they think they're burglars or intruders. And often people are killing each other in the crimes of passion where if they didn't have the gun in their house they wouldn't have murdered that loved one of theirs. As the world comes to terms with its fallen hero, it's looking to the courts for justice. There are no trials by jury in South Africa, so Pistorius's fate will be decided by a judge. But the country's soul searching will go on much longer. - At times, today, the questioning by Pistorius's defense team was persistent and combative and it will continue tomorrow as they attempt to show that the evidence against him is not beyond reasonable doubt. - It's become a daily routine, it seems, a lot of tears, a lot of time out, but one does sense that the mood in South Africa is starting to shift. The weekend papers were full of suggestions that even if the court battle is won, the PR war may have already been lost. - It's sad for Reeva's family, really, to be going through what they're going through, but then what has done has been done. So we just have to deal with what our government says must be done. - He's like everybody else so he should be treated like everybody else. So I don't think he should be discriminated just because he's a celebrity or so. At the end of the day, he's a human being. - Everything is legal. I'm not blaming Pistorius, but it's only the justice system in our country somehow I believe it favors people with money, because I don't think if it was just an ordinary citizen who would have killed someone in such a fashion, you know four shorts in a small space, there was intent and everything, but since he was given that sentence, he has followed all the procedures, the protocols, and they're saying he's going through the rehabilitation, he is going to serve his house, is it house arrest? And then do community service. So to a certain extent, we don't blame Pistorius but we blame the justice system. - Open up, open up, open up. Open up, open up, open up, open up. - For the defendant himself, just telling his story was difficult enough. And in the coming days that story will be scrutinized in court as prosecutors seek to dismantle his account of what happened. - So here instead of just dealing with the facts of the details of what took place on the shooting on the night in question, we're now dealing with somebody who can be shown to the court as an irresponsible firearm owner, of somebody has no respect for the law, of somebody who when he does something wrong, he gets other people to take the blame from it 'cause that's the what they claim at what happened to the. I think on the face of it, the public perception, he certainly wasn't vulnerable, but that might have been very different for those closest to him, but it doesn't appear as they'd done anything about it. You got the celebrity, not just an athletics, he was a good looking young man. He had a beautiful young blonde woman on his arm. He was on the, you know, the red carpet at all sorts of events. So there was that aspect to it. So it wasn't just the sport, it was celebrity, it was big money, fast cars, and of course throwing the firearm, and you've just got this incredible story. This is a global story, and I think people from all over the world, if they can't get to a television, they're following people on Twitter. I mean, and this is, everyone wants to find out the latest. And we saw this through the bail application, we saw it through the trial and we are definitely going to see it on Thursday. I'm pretty sure a lot of people, you know, there's been criticism from bosses about the loss of productivity to Facebook and social media. I think the Oscar trial will be the loss of productivity on Thursday and Friday. There's almost no doubt about it. People will be glued to their televisions around the world. - I'm just shocked same as everybody else. But my aim is, you know, to come out here and just concentrate my race. You don't wanna wish on anyone, but it's what it is, I guess. - We know Oscar's version of what happened at that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court cases. - Even though I don't wanna hurt him in any way, he's got to face the truth. And if the truth can come out in this way then it's a good thing. It's kind of, it's Reeva, justice for Reeva. The prosecution tried to show that Pistorius and Steenkamp were heard arguing prior to the shooting. The state's first witness, Michelle Berger, lived 177 meters away from Pistorius's house, but claimed to hear Steenkamp screaming from behind the closed toilet door. Acoustic engineer, Ivan Lynn, testified that tests suggested that if Steenkamp was screaming in Pistorius's toilet, it was, quote, "very unlikely that the screams would be audible or intelligible from 177 meters away," and that, quote, "although we can typically distinguish male and female screams, you cannot do so reliably without exception." But those who know Pistorius just can't believe he's a murderer. - I can't, for the life of me, see any anger in him that would create a premeditated murder charge. But, you know, we need to get the facts on the table and the truth will survive. - I'll still support him because I know Oscar for who he were when he was training always here and always very humble. Pistorius's lawyer, Barry Roux, suggested to Michelle Burger that Pistorius was so upset his voice became high-pitched and that he sounded like a woman when he screamed. Roux also said it was impossible for Steenkamp to have cried out after the shots because she was shot in the head and had brain damage. Shorts fired in Silver Estate, Pretoria. Requesting immediate backup. He told him that he'd shot his girlfriend because he thought she was an intruder, and he described it as a tragic accident. - Pistorius had indeed shouted those words, "Get out of my house," but not at a burglar, at Reeva Steenkamp. Confronted Pistorius over concerns that his love of fast cars and guns put her daughter in danger. A number of other witnesses also claimed they heard a woman's screams and gunshots on the night Steenkamp died. The defense cross-examined these witnesses attempting to establish that in fact this was Pistorius screaming for help and that the, quote, "explosive sounds" came from the door to the toilet being battered down. - We are going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better. - We know with her love, it's in our hearts, and it's gonna stay in our hearts forever, and that's something nobody will ever take from us. - She was an angel. She was an angel. She was so soft, so innocent, such a lovely person. And it's just sad that this could happen to somebody so good. - Vibrant, amazing soul, strong personality, strong-willed. - As a parent, I regard her as my daughter. She is also the child of Africa. She has transcended so many language barriers. And you could hear from her friends, she could speak Xhosa, and that is why I am here, I feel my soul also will be at rest. They can't continue to kill angels. Reeva is an angel. She's a hero of the society, of the nation. She can't be killed. She can't be killed. We can't continue to have this all the time. Not in our name. - We are here as a family, but it's only one thing missing, is Reeva. We've got together but we miss one. I don't think I'll ever... Ah, I will get over it with the Lord's praise. And the statement that she stood for: abuse against women, that was echoed so much in the months that she had mentioned that she would like to have been an activist for that. And unfortunately a swung right around. But I think that the Lord knows that statement is more powerful now than what she was activating previously. Another immediate neighbor testified that she heard a man crying, describing the sound as a, quote, "cry of pain." This argument was bolstered on the 6th of May by a married couple who lived next to Pistorius's House, testifying they both heard a man crying loudly in a high-pitched voice and calling three times for help. - Coming from the Pistorius court. These statements were used to destroy the image of romantic bliss and suggested that Pistorius had a motive for Steenkamp's murder. The question is, were these statements credible? What could the couple have been arguing about that could have led to murder on Valentine's Day? According to Pistorius, they were deeply in love. - At times today the questioning by Pistorius's defense team was persistent and combative, and it will continue tomorrow as they attempt to show that the evidence against him is not beyond reasonable doubt. At the trial, Pistorius's neighbor, Johan Stipp, a radiologist, testified that he found Pistorius praying over Steenkamp's body when he went over to help after being woken by what he described as the sound of gunshots and a woman screaming. Stipp testified that the first thing he remembered Pistorius saying when he saw him was, quote, "I shot her. I thought she was a burglar. I shot her." Johan Stander, manager of the estate where Pistorius lived, testified that Pistorius called at 3:18 AM saying, "Please, please come to my house. I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder. Please, please come quick." He went with his daughter and found Pistorius coming down the stairs with Steenkamp in his arms. "He was broken, he was screaming, he was crying, he was praying. I saw the truth that morning," he said. - Every single night he goes to bed knowing that the person that he loved died at his hands, so he's gonna be repenting for the rest of his life. He's got a terrible life to live with. - So within this confined luxury, Oscar Pistorius is scheduled to spend the next four years. Still a dividing opinion between those who believe he deserves a second chance and others who contend that money, and skin color can still buy privilege in this country. Thabo Nkosi serve six years, more than half his sentence, for armed robbery, some in the same jail as Pistorius. - It's really unfair. If you don't have money, like poor people, poor guys that are still in prison right now then you are rotten jail. - The judge can order that some of the arrest or some of the detention be under house arrest. So he is not out on parole. On the 21st of August, he's had his sentence name converted to a house arrest sentence where he's now con confined to a house for a period until he's actually paroled. So as part of our sentencing procedures here, the court can give a full house arrest, a full detention or combination of both. This just happens to be a combination of both. So the former Olympic athlete will remain a guest of his uncle at this luxurious Pretoria home. His apartment is next to the swimming pool. - I imagine he'll be staying at uncle Arnie's house, which is a multimillionaire rand mansion in Pretoria. Maybe staying at my house would be a little bit more difficult and not quite as comfortable, but at uncle Arnie's house, certainly there'll be a lot more space, it'll be a nice garden, nice pool. He won't be able to leave the premises, which I'm sure will become quite difficult. He's also checked on periodically by the paroles board to ensure that he's not breaking the paroles rules, he's not leaving the premises. He's not allowed to have parties or be drinking. So they'll confine him to essentially what he would be doing in prison but in the confines of his own house. I suppose the food might be better, but besides that, it's relatively difficult. - The family is happy that Oscar's home, but they want to make the point that Oscar's sentence continues, and that is the key point here. His sentence isn't shortened, hasn't been reduced. He continues to serve his sentence. Still Pistorius dare not relax, in two weeks an appeal court hearing might yet end in a murder conviction. - This is a bail application is not a trial. And we hope and trust that justice will prevail. And it's still a very sad time for us 'cause, you know, we need to remember that somebody did lose their life. And, you know, our hearts and thoughts and prayers just got out to the Steenkamp family. Thank you very much. How are you coping with it? - As I said, you know, we're still very sad. She was an amazing person, amazing. Thank you. - Thanks. Throughout the court proceedings, Pistorius had numerous emotional outbursts, including crying, howling and vomiting. - I wasn't sure somebody was gonna come out the toilet to attack me. I wasn't sure if someone was gonna come up the ladder and point a firearm in the house and start shooting so I just stayed where I was and I kicked and screaming, and then I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I've perceived to be somebody coming out of the toilet. Before I knew I fired four shots at the door. Masipa temporarily adjourned proceedings to allow him to calm down. Yvette van Schalkwyk, a social worker and probation officer, who was assigned to Pistorius after he shot dead his girlfriend, she testified that he was heartbroken and genuinely sorry for what Reeva Steenkamp's parents were going through. She said that in February, 2013, she sat with him in the cells during his bail appearance where he vomited twice and cried 80% of the time. She said he was in mourning, suffering emotionally, and that Pistorius told her he missed Steenkamp a great deal. However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel, known as a Bull Terrier for his aggressive interrogations, claimed Pistorius hadn't shown any remorse, and accused Pistorius of, quote, "getting emotional in court because you're getting frustrated because your version of events is improbable." I fired in the direction where I thought the attack was coming from, My Lady. - You see, Mr. Pistorius, you now have to give a lot of answers, and you know why, Mr. Pistorius? Is because you know exactly, you fired at Reeva. These other versions of yours cannot work. - It's not true, My Lady. - You fired at her, you did. Why are you getting emotional now? I did not fire at Reeva. - My Lady, the witnesses emotional, may we take adjournment again? Pistorius was cross-examined about his version of events for five days. On the 12th of September, 2014, Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered a verdict that Pistorius was not guilty of murder, but guilty of the culpable homicide of Steenkamp and reckless endangerment with a firearm at a restaurant. - In terms of the conviction, justice has been done, but we're saying he was actually convicted on a lesser charge. And it should have been murder? - That is our contention. On the 21st of October, 2014, he was sentenced to a maximum of five years for culpable homicide with a concurrent three year suspended prison sentence for reckless endangerment. Oscar Pistorius, driven away from court to begin a five-year prison sentence for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. During a 67-minute statement, Judge Masipa looked to strike a balance between punishment and rehabilitation, dismissing defense claims that the disabled athlete would face particular suffering in prison. - There's a delicate balance between the crime, the criminal and the interest of society. The extent of the negligence in culpable homicide cases plays an important role in coming to an appropriate sentence, which should neither be too severe nor no too light. And as the sentence was handed down, no reaction from the star sprinter. - Count one: culpable homicide. The sentence imposed is a maximum imprisonment of five years imposed in terms of Section 276, 1-i of the Criminal Procedure Act number 51 of 1977. The prosecution has called for 10 years in jail. The defense pleaded for house arrest and community service. The families of both Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius seem satisfied with the compromise. Excuse me, do you feel that justice was served today? It was? You're happy with this sentencing? - Yes. - We accept the judgements. Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society. Neither of the defense nor prosecution have decided whether to appeal the sentence. But for now, the trial that has galvanized South Africa and TV audiences around the world for nearly a year has finally come to rest.