The Trials of Oscar Pistorius

When South Africans woke up on 14 February 2013, they could not have seen what was coming. Oscar Pistorius, one of their country’s most popular sportsmen and a figure of inspiration, had shot dead his girlfriend, model and paralegal Reeva Steenkamp. The first episode of a four-part series explores the week following the murder of Reeva, from the moment of the late-night phone call, when it was still unclear who the victim was, to hours later when she was confirmed to be Reeva Steenkamp. South Africa was thrown into turmoil. As his bail hearing unfolded, a surreal sequence of drama and emotion unfolded, and a terrible crime began to be chronicled by a ravenous global tabloid media. After becoming an overnight sensation at the 2004 Paralympics, as a double-amputee teenage sprinter who shattered records, the news was all the more shocking. Eight days after the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius was granted bail.

A month after Oscar Pistorius shoots dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, he is out on bail, living at his uncle Arnold’s compound. A forensics expert hired by his legal team helps him to recreate his version of what happened the night of Reeva’s death. The Blade Runner, as he was nicknamed, became a worldwide superstar at the Athens Olympics, while still a high school teenager finding his way. Pistorius set his sights on an ambitious goal: competing against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics. In a long and contentious battle with track and field’s governing body, the IAAF, he wins the right to compete in the Olympics in 2008. All that becomes a distant memory on 19 August 2013 when he is formally charged with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp – on what would have been Reeva’s 30th birthday. With the prosecution adding gun charges to the original complaint, the evidence reveals that he is a very different young man to the one that the world had come to admire.

When a judge is assigned to the Oscar Pistorius trial, the world watches closely. In this case, a judge - and not a jury - will decide the defendant’s fate. The judge, Thokozile Masipa, is a highly respected scholar who grew up in the Soweto Township as a child of Apartheid. Despite the dignity with which she attempts to conduct the trial, no-one can stop it from becoming a televised tabloid circus. Early news focuses on the holes in the testimonies of witnesses who claim to have heard the gun shots and screams. But as new evidence emerges, those close to Pistorius question his maturity and temper. His singular and at times lonely existence emerges, along with details of his romantic relationships. The trial lays bare his relationship with Reeva Steenkamp, with stormy texts revealing dramatic ups and downs, dictated by Pistorius’s temper.

Six weeks into the trial of Oscar Pistorius, he takes the stand to explain what happened in the early hours of February 14th, 2013. In 2012, Pistorius had left South Africa to prepare for the London Olympics. That summer was the peak of his career – competing against able-bodied athletes in the 400 meters and qualifying for the semi-finals, a remarkable achievement. A few weeks later, he faltered at the Paralympics. Rather than the victory lap expected, he was beaten, and afterwards, was ungracious about the loss. The following months saw Pistorius change. He became involved with a different crowd, whilst growing infatuated with guns and paranoid about security. At this point, he also met Reeva, the start of a whirlwind romance on the surface, that would soon end with him murdering her. In the witness stand he stumbles in his response to tough questioning. When the verdict for manslaughter comes, the judge calls Pistorius a “very poor witness”. The verdict of culpable homicide (the equivalent of manslaughter) was overturned on appeal and upgraded to murder. His sentence is increased from 5 to 6 years – and then on a further appeal increased to 15 years. He remains in prison in South Africa.