Oscar Pistorius: The Rise, Fall, and Legal Battle of the Blade Runner

Oscar Pistorius is a former South African paralympic athlete who gained International Fame for competing in the 2012 Olympics despite having both legs amputated below the knee his life took a tragic turn in 2013 when he shot and killed his girlfriend Reva Steen camp at his home Pistorius claimed he mistook her for an intruder but he was later convicted of murder the case received widespread media attention and after several appeals Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and 5 months in prison all sorts of questions was the murder premeditated did he have a past of abuse did Pistorius know who was behind the bathroom door as he unloaded his gun or was he simply a man trying to protect himself and the one he loved from an intruder let's get right to the latest on Oscar Pistorius the Olympic hero accused now of murder this morning Nation woke up on Thursday morning to news that Olympic and Par Olympic champion Oscar Pistorius had shot and killed his girlfriend in his home in Petoria good morning Amy as Oscar Pistoria Spends His fifth day in the South African jail police sources are leaking incriminating information from media including new claims that he may have been using steroids police say sting comp was shot four times with a 9mm pistol the murder shocked their fans around the world the question for this single judge is not who did this but why but but it wasn't the media that the track star would have to answer to he would have to stand on trial in a court of law after you fired the first shot did she scream no my lady are you sure yes my would you have heard her I don't think I would have heard her there was a gunshot that went off my lady my ears were ringing how can you exclude the fact that she was screaming if you couldn't hear Oscar's early release has reignited debates about the criminal justice system about whether or not his wealth Fame and race helped him during the controversial trial what we've seen is that money you have money for instance in this country you can 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 its bloody consequences revealed a different side to Oscar Pistorius just to bring you an update of um the incident that happened this morning uh 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 um paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius um at this stage we can confirm that um a young woman a 50-year-old woman did die on the scene of gunshot wounds um a 26-year-old male has been arrested and has been charged with murder at this stage is on his way to a visit to the district surgeon for a medical examination and he'll be appearing in the Petoria magistrates court at 2:00 this afternoon the trial commenced on March 3rd 2014 in the high court of Petoria there was no jury as the jury system in South Africa was abolished during the apartheid era the trial was assigned to judge toil mipa who appointed two assessors Janette Hensen dtoa and thimba mazibuko to help her evaluate the case and reach a verdict in addition to the murder charge Pastorius also faced a charge of illegal possession of ammunition and two charges of firing a gun in a public space the opening statement of the prosecutor noted that the murder case against Pistorius was based largely on circumstantial evidence as there were no eyewitnesses to the incident the first count against accused count one is one of murder they accused that unlawfully and intentionally kill a person to Reva stenka a 29-year-old female yes that is count one that's count one yes do you understand the charges Miss Pistorius I do I do my lady how do you plead not guilty my lady the only Witnesses who truly knew what went on that night were Oscar and Reva 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 pastorious fa the cameras again to hear the main police investigating officer say he didn't believe his EXP explanation that he' killed his girlfriend thinking she was a burglar if given bail the policeman said the athlete would flee he had an an overseas account a house in Italy and the money police officer Hilton bter 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 2200 hours on February 13th 2013 she was was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television my prosthetic legs were off after Reva finished her yoga exercises she got into bed and we both fell asleep during the early morning hours of February 14th 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 Pastorius woke up because of the heat and humidity Steen Camp was already awake and asked him if he was having trouble sleeping walking around on his stumps Pastorius 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 Steen Camp 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 9mm 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 Reva to phone the police it was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reva was in bed I noticed that the bathroom window was open 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 enter through the unprotected window as I did not have my prosthetic legs on I felt extremely vulnerable I knew I had to protect Reva 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 Reva 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 pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light when I reached the bed I realized that Reva was not in bed that is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reva 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 Pastorius then returned to the bathroom calling out for Reva as he did so he said he tried to open the toilet door but he 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 when that didn't work he moved back to the bedroom to get his Cricut bat he used the Bat to smash holes in the door one of the door panels broke open enabling him to reach inside side and open the door he found Steen Camp 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 and onsuite 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 Riva had an empty bladder unlikely at 3:00 a.m. 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 M away from the Pistoria 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 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 keeping a firearm in the house for protection is seen as normal it is estimated that there are six 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 copper wash Full Metal Jacket we shot a Full Metal Jacket of PMP this is the Winchester Black Talent Black Talent t a l o n what we've done as we fold this with uh 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 the entrance are basically very close to each other because it's 9 mm the sizes of the entrance will be very close but soon as you pick this up you can clearly see that on the Black Talent the transfer of energy was so much that it actually broke the whole bend 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 on the front of the the projectile and that causes as the the tissue actually goes inside it actually opens it actually breaks up and it opens up and I'm going to show you a little bit later what a fired black tant 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 a mushroom like a mushroom this actually opens up and and becomes like a I can almost call it call it a b claw that that's going to hit you ready 1 second 5 seconds I'm up to speed you will notice this was the front end of the projectile it opened up this parts 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 at Lock 17 or at Lock 27 uh the block 27 is just a different caliber but the mechanism on the inside of the Block's all the same now what you will see in in this block is you'll see that on the trigger's got like a little little leav that needs to be depressed in other words if it needs to fire now what I'm going to do is I'm going to I'm going to [ __ ] the fire we're going to 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 farm it's got no other levers or safety catches or anything on the outside visible the only thing it'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 just pull it I just push 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 the tragedy triggered an emotional debate about self-defense and vigilantism in South Africa official statistics showed that although violent crime was stabilizing or decreasing more than 20,000 South African an are still murdered every year and the fear of crime was still Rising with 23% of people surveyed in a pole claiming to have been victims of crime during the year of the incident osar Pistorius and Reva Steen comp 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 CoverGirl on Valentine's Day as the case of the Blade Runner 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 leaper in five anifer in six par Olympics London 2012 and we are about to see the greatest par par Olympian ever and is this going to be the moment when he gets [Music] gold and off they go and it's a great start for an F Robert Oscar pus has already gone past Blake leaper it's the two South Africans in the lead and here 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 the November 22nd 1986 in Johannesburg South Africa his family while prominent in South Africa lived a largely middleclass lifestyle as described in his 2008 autobiography Blade Runner Pistorius was born in November 1986 with no fibula in either leg and deformed feet prompting parents Hank and Sheila to make the difficult decision to have his legs amputated below the knee at 11 months old 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 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 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 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 uh the energy return is less than what you put in at the end of the day Pastorius plunged himself into activities like hiking bike riding wrestling and water skiing well I 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 sport not that his childhood was devoid of difficulties pistorius's childhood was shaped partly by tragedy Hank and Sheila divorced when Pistorius was 6 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 spark ly Silver Lining as doctor suggested 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 his 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 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 um I've had a really good start my my domestic season in South Africa around a b qualification time for the Olympic games um so 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 uh games and the par Olympic 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 um my arm length is 189 CM my legs are 17 my hearts so I'm still within 2 cm of my my ring they don't have any spring loads or anything like that coach ay La is dismissive there is no Advantage he says no 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 to work with that the best thing about Oscar when he trains and when he does he stays humble and uh and and and I think that's that's his success uh hard work and dedication and talent and he've got he just put it together nicely Oscar now aged 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 approached life at a run on July 4th 2012 the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee sasak announced that Pistorius had been in included in the Olympic team for the 400 m and the four times 400 m relay races and very quickly out of the blocks Pistorius he's absolutely haired out of the blocks but Pistorius has the lead can the Brazilian keep his former and the second B but Pistorius is going away he's putting distance between himself and Oliva and Oscar Pistorius the greatest par Olympic athlete of all time is going to take this gold medal he's in a different league and Oliva is tying up people are standing up cheering flashlights going all around the stadium and Oscar Pistorius is the par Olympic champion of 2012 in London at the 2012 Summer Olympic game on August 4th 2012 ptor became the debut amputee Runner to complete an Olympic Games in the 400 meter race he took second place in the first heat of five Runners finishing with a time of 4544 seconds his best time that season to advance to the semi-finals on August 5th he ran in the second semifinal 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 GQ and people and the media have sort of labeled the par Olympic athletes as super humans how do you feel about that then what's how do you feel about that label is it is it putting too much pressure on you possibly not not at all not only on myself but I think every athletes are super human and every they're great performers I watched some of the performances over the previous par Olympic 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 superum though a few behind the scenes incidents suggested that trouble was lurking below the surface the 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 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 poorus crashed a boat in 2009 which severely injured him empty alcohol bottle were found on board but the par Olympian never faced charges some 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 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 the first alleged that he recklessly shot his gun out of the open sunroof of a car the previous year and the second that he fired someone else's handgun at a restaurant a few weeks before he shot and killed Steen Camp his former girlfriend Samantha Taylor testified that the sunroof incident occurred heard when ptus became angry after he was stopped for speeding by a police officer she said Pistorius kept his gun with him all the time and that he could get very angry he would be angry or irritated he would argue with people he would shout at his friends or family did you ever feel frightened I think any girl that's shouted at feels frightened the 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 Lorina when a gun went off one friend Darren Fresco passed the gun to Pastorius under 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 Lorena'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 Asar Pastorius 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 a South African gun expert testified at the athletes murder trial sha RN also said borius wanted to buy seven more guns in 20 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 the order was cancelled after Pistoria shot dead girlfriend Reva Steen camp in early 2013 the remaining two guns were contained on a second invoice the firearm dealer said Ren said the double amput Runner had a great love and enthusiasm for guns City 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 that sting comp was wearing a night gown and her overnight bag was found at the house that Pistorius may have first shot sting compm 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 Reva and I'm Reva Steen camp in Oscar story is seemed like the kind of couple 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 um he needed a date to the last minute so it's like re just throw your stuff together and come and be my date so Reva Rebecca Steen Camp was a South African model and pargal she modeled for FHM magazine and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa after University Steen Camp worked as a paralal 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 that looks easier than what it is I'm I'm I'm hurting in places that I never knew existed so Steen Camp 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 herald missport Elizabeth contest in 2005 like long-term friendships that you think will come out of this um I think going into it I 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 um I wasn't going to come and then I got roped in 2 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 going to be the craziest outfit but really it's not I've seen some insane things today so yeah and are you a big um I I yeah it's crazy out here she appeared in F hm magazine as a model and cover girl and was the first face of Avon Cosmetics in South Africa she also modeled for the jewelry company savan diamonds ambitious beautiful and politically aware steam Camp 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 social light on the Johannesburg party scene do I prefer a clean shaven man or the rugged camel man H 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 n Reva had previously dated springb rugby player Francois hogard and then began dating poorus in November 2012 the couple's first date was on November 4th 2012 when Pistorius took Reva to the South African sports awards Osa is 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 it's a gentleman Pistorius in Steen Camp had only been dating for 3 months when she was shot Pete vanil pistorius's agent testified that Pistorius was in a loving and caring relationship with steam Camp venzel described the Sprinter as hyper Vigilant and said he rarely lost his temper on March 24th the court heard testimony about messages sent on iPhones between Pistorius and steam Camp using Whatsapp 90% of them were described as loving and normal but there were a few from Steen Camp accusing Pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness in one of them sent Less Than 3 weeks before her killing Steen Camp told Pastorius I'm scared of you sometimes of how you snap at me and described his behavior as nasty after 8 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 ptor prison that he's behind over here all the police are uh reacting and here he is Mr pastores will you be appealing to the Constitutional Court Pastorius said he killed Steen Camp 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 question Ren on pistorius's firearm training whether or not not Oscar and Reva 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 dou MPT 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 reasin camp in the early hours of Valentine's Day it's his Toria home to the shock and disbelief of his fans I'm I'm just shocked at the moment like did he really do it cuz 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 weekl long baale 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 B what we've seen is that money uh when you have money for instance in this country you can you can be out you can buy anything you can buy your way out whether South Africa's legal system is flawed or not theorious 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 pre previous separate incidents we still have many uh thousands of people every year being murdered as a result of firearms and many of this take place in homes and there every year there are incidents where people shoot people that they don't mean to shoot because they think they're burglars or Intruders um and often people killing each other in the crimes of passion where if they didn't have the gun in their house they would not be able to murder that that 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 [Music] 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 said for River's family really to be going through what they are going through but then what has done is has been done so we just have to deal with what our government says must be done he is like everybody else so he should be treated like everybody else so I don't think he should be discriminated just because he is a celebrity or so at the end of the at the at the end of the day he is a human being everything is legal I'm not blaming Pistorius but it's only that the justice system in our country somehow I believe believe it favors people with money because I don't think if it was just an ordinary citizen we have killed someone in such a fashion you know for shorts in a small space there was intent and everything but since he was given that sentence he has followed all the the procedures the protocols and they saying he's going through the rehabilitation he's going to save his house is it house and then do community service so to a certain extent we don't blame prior but we blame the Justice 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 who somebody has no respect for the law of somebody who when he does something wrong he gets other people to take the blame from him because that's the what they claim that what happened to the Tash 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 had done anything about it you got the celebrity not just an Athletics he was a young 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 uh fast cars and of course throw in 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 this is everyone wants to find out the latest and we saw this through the application we saw through the trial and we're definitely going to see it on Thursday I'm pretty sure a lot of people uh 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 it's some same as everybody else um for my you know to come out here and just concentrate my race you don't want to wish on anyone but it's what it is I guess yes we know Oscar's uh 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 want to hurt him in any way he's got to face the truth and if the truth can come out in this way and it's a good thing it's kind of it's it's it's reever Justice for Rea prosecution tried to show that borius and Steen Camp were heard arguing prior to the shooting the state's first witness Michelle Berger lived 100 meters away from pistorius's house but claimed to hear Steen Camp screaming from behind the closed toilet door AC I Engineer Ivan Lynn tested that test suggested that if Steen Camp was screaming in pistorius's toilet it was very unlikely that the screams would be audible or intelligible from 177 M away and that 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 uh for the life of me see any uh any anger in him that would create a premeditated murder charge uh but you know we need to get the facts on the on the table and and the truth will survive I'll still support him because I know Oscar for he he were when he was training always here and always very humble pistorius's lawyer Barry Rue suggested to Michelle burger that Pastorius was so upset his voice became high pitched and that he sounded like a woman when he screamed Ru also said it was impossible for Steen Camp to have cried out after the shots because she was shot in the head and had brain damage ptor had indeed shouted those words get out of my house but not at a burglar at re 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 screams and gunshots on the night Ste Camp died the defense cross-examined these Witnesses attempting to established that in fact this was pastorious screaming for help and that the explosive sounds came from the door to the toilet being battered down we're 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 going to stay in our hearts forever and that's something nobody will ever take from us an angel she was an angel she she was so soft so innocent such a lovely person and uh it's just said that this could happen to somebody so good vibrant amazing Soul um strong personality strong world we hope that I regard her as my daughter she's also the child of Africa she has transcended so many language barriers and you could hear from her friends you could speaka and that is why I am here I feel my soul also will be at rest they can't continue to kill Riva is an angel he's a hero of the society and 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 men must organize themselves we are here today as a family but it's only one thing we've got together but we miss one and I think I'll never I will get over that with the Lord's praise and the statement that she stood for of abuse against woman 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 it 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 sounds as a cry of pain the argument was bolstered on May 6th by a married couple who lived next to pistorius's house testifying that both heard a man crying loudly in a high pitched voice and calling three times for help these statements were used to destroy the image of romantic Bliss and suggested that ptus had a motive for Steen Camp's murder but 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 John stip a radiologist testified that he found Pastorius praying over Steen Camp's body when he went over to help after being woken by what he described as sounds of gunshots and a woman screaming STI testified that the first thing he remembered Pistorius saying when he saw him was I shot her I thought she was a burglar I shot her Johan Stander manager of the estate where Pistorius lived testified that ptor is called at 3:18 a.m. saying please please come to my house I shot Reva I thought she was an intruder please come quick he went with his daughter and found Pastorius coming down the stairs with Steen camp 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 going to be repenting for the rest of his life it's he's 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 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 tarbo and cozy serve six years more than half is sentenced for armed robbery some in the same jail as Pistorius it's really unfair if you don't have money like poor people po poor guys that are still in prison right now then you'll R in jail the judge can order that some of the arrest or some of the detention be under house arrest so he's not out in parole on the 21st of August he's had his sentence then converted to a house arrest sentence where is now he's now conf 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 a 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 ptor home his apartment is next to the swimming pool I imagine he'll be staying at Uncle an's house which is a multi-million mansion in vioria um maybe saying my house would be a little bit more difficult and not quite as comfortable but at Uncle an's house certainly there will be a lot more space it'll be a nice Garden nice pool he won't be able to leave the premises uh which I'm sure become quite difficult uh he's also checked on periodically by the uh paro's board to ensure that he's not breaking the paro's 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 uh but in the confines of his own house I suppose the food might be better but besides that it's it's it's relatively uh [Music] difficult the family is happy that Oscar's home but they want to make the point that Oscar's sentence continues um and that is the key Point here his sentence isn't shortened it hasn't been reduced he continues to serve his sentence this is a bail application it's not a trial and we hope and trust that justice will prevail and it's still a very sad time for us cuz you know we need to remember that somebody did lose their life and you know our hearts and thoughts and prayers just got out this didn't come family how are you thank you very much how are you cing with it we as I said you know we we just we're still very sad you know she was an amazing person amazing thank you throughout the court proceedings Pistorius had numerous emotional outb birth including crying howling and vomiting I wasn't sure somebody was going to come out the toilet to attack me I wasn't sure if someone was going to come up the letter and point a firearm in the house and start shooting um so I just stayed where I was and I kicked them [Music] screaming and um and then I heard a noise from inside the toilet um what I perceived to be somebody coming out of the [Music] toilet before I knew fir four shots at the door mipa temporarily adjourned proceedings to allow him to calm down IET van schwick a social worker worker and probation officer was assigned to Pistorius after he shot dead his girlfriend she testified that he was heartbroken and genuinely sorry for what Reva Steen Cam's parents were going through she said that in February 2013 she sat with him in the cells during his Bale appearance where he vomited twice and cried 80% of the time she said he was in mourning suffering emotionally and that Pastorius told her he missed Steen Camp a great deal he loved her he couldn't think what her parents must be going through she said however prosecutor Jerry Nell known as a bull terrier for his aggressive interrogations claimed Pistorius hadn't shown any remorse and accused Pastorius of getting emotional in court because you're getting frustrated because your version of events is improbable i f in the direction where I thought the attack was coming from you see Mr pus you now you now have to give a lot of answers and you know why Mr superious is because you you know exactly you fired at R these other versions of yours cannot work you fired at her you did why are you getting emotional now I did not fire re Mel lady the witness is emotional maybe take adment again Pistorius was cross-examined about his version of the events for 5 days on the 12th of September 2014 judge toil mipa delivered a verdict that Pastorius was not guilty of murder but guilty of the culpable homicide of Steen camp 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 he should have been murdered we that is our that is our contention on the 21st of October 2014 he was sentenced to a maximum of 5 years for culpable homicide with a concurrent 3year suspended prison sentence for reckless endangerment Oscar Pistorius driven away from Court to begin a 5-year prison sentence for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend WEA Steen Camp during a 67 minute statement judge MPA 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 True 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 5 years imposed in terms of section 2761 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 Reva Steen camp and Oscar Pistorius seem satisfied with the compromise excuse me do you feel that Justice was serve today was you're happy with the ver with the sentence we accept the Judgment Oscar will Embrace this opportunity to pay to pay back to society neither 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 during a private parole board session at ater Ridgeville prison in Petoria on November 24th it was decided that Pistorius would be released on January 5th 2024 upon his release he will be required to undergo anger management therapy and remain under close supervision he won't be permitted to leave the water clo area where he'll reside with family for a duration of 5 years parole placement for Mr Oscar pistas has been confirmed effectively from the 5th of January 2024 what will happen from now until the month of January 2024 will be what we call a pre-release program that's why an inmate is prepared for life outside of a correctional facility just like all other um pares M pistas will be monitored by our officials based within the system of Comm Corrections and until that will happen until such time that his sentence expires because we always make it a point that parl placement does not mean the end of a sentence Jun Steen Camp reva's mother opted not to be present at the hearing citing she cannot muster the energy to face him again at this stage yet she delivered a poyant victim impact statement in court expressing her forgiveness toward him however she mentioned her disbelief in pistorius's account of the events leading to her daughter's death this parole board session marked pistorius's second attempt at securing Freedom following an earlier Hearing in March which inaccurately deemed him ineligible for early release due to an error concerning the commencement of his prison sentence according to South African regulations serious offenders must serve at least half of their sentence to be considered for parole a requirement that Pistorius has now fulfilled it is likely that pistorius's application for release was helped by Miss Steen Camp's decision not to oppose parole her husband Barry reva's father died earlier this year in her Victim Impact statement she wrote I do not believe Oscar's version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar in fact I do not know anybody who does my dearest child screamed for her life loud enough for the neighbors to hear her I do not know what gave rise to his choice to shoot through a closed door four times at somebody with hollow point ammunition when I believe he knew it was Reva [Music] for [Music]