Oscar Pistorius (born 1986) is a South African double-amputee sprinter nicknamed the "Blade Runner," who competed on carbon-fibre prosthetics. He became the first amputee to run at the Olympic Games, at London 2012, and won multiple Paralympic gold medals. On 14 February 2013 he shot and killed his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, at his Pretoria home.
Victim
Reeva Steenkamp (29)
Location
Silver Woods Country Estate, Pretoria, South Africa
Summary
Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day, claiming he mistook her for an intruder.
Details
In the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, Pistorius fired four shots from a 9mm pistol through a locked toilet door, striking Steenkamp multiple times. He claimed he mistook her for an intruder; the prosecution argued they had argued and the killing was intentional. After a high-profile, televised trial, Judge Thokozile Masipa convicted him of culpable homicide in 2014 and sentenced him to five years. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned that verdict in 2015, convicting him of murder, and his sentence was later increased to 13 years and five months. He was granted parole and released in January 2024.
Background
Oscar Pistorius, born on 22 November 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa, was a double-amputee sprinter who became one of the most celebrated athletes of his era. Both of his legs were amputated below the knee when he was an infant due to a congenital absence of the fibula, and he competed using carbon-fibre prosthetic blades. This earned him the nickname 'Blade Runner.' He won multiple Paralympic gold medals and, in 2012, became the first amputee to compete against able-bodied runners at the Olympic Games in London, a landmark moment widely covered around the world.
His girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, was a South African model, paralegal, and reality-television personality born on 19 August 1983. The couple had been in a relationship for several months prior to the events of February 2013. Pistorius lived in a gated, high-security estate in Pretoria, the kind of secure complex common among affluent South Africans concerned about crime.
The Shooting
In the early hours of 14 February 2013, Valentine's Day, Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door at his home in Pretoria. Steenkamp was struck in the hip, arm, and head and died at the scene. Pistorius used a 9mm pistol, firing through the closed door of the small toilet cubicle that was separate from the main bathroom.
Pistorius maintained that he believed an intruder had entered the home and was hiding in the bathroom, and that he fired in fear for his and Steenkamp's safety, not realising she was behind the door. The prosecution argued instead that the couple had argued and that Pistorius shot her knowingly. The case immediately drew intense international media attention given his global fame and the dramatic circumstances.
Trial
Pistorius was charged with murder. His trial began in March 2014 at the High Court in Pretoria, presided over by Judge Thokozile Masipa. South Africa does not use jury trials, so the verdict rested with the judge, assisted by two assessors. The proceedings were broadcast and followed worldwide, with extensive testimony about the gunshots, neighbours' accounts of screams and noise, ballistic evidence, and Pistorius's account of the night.
In September 2014, Judge Masipa found Pistorius not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide, the South African equivalent of negligent or unlawful killing without intent to kill. He was sentenced in October 2014 to a maximum of five years' imprisonment for the culpable homicide conviction, along with a suspended sentence on a separate firearms charge.
Appeals and Murder Conviction
The state appealed the culpable homicide verdict. In December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the lower court's finding and convicted Pistorius of murder, applying the legal principle of dolus eventualis, meaning he should have foreseen that firing into the small enclosed space could kill whoever was behind the door, regardless of their identity.
The case was returned for re-sentencing. In July 2016, Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison. The state appealed this term as too lenient, and in November 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal increased the sentence to thirteen years and five months, bringing it closer to the prescribed minimum sentence for murder under South African law.
Imprisonment and Release
Pistorius served his sentence in South African correctional facilities. Under South African law, offenders may become eligible for parole after serving a portion of their sentence. After an earlier parole bid was delayed, Pistorius was granted parole and released from prison on 5 January 2024, subject to conditions that typically include monitoring and restrictions until the full sentence period elapses.
Reeva Steenkamp's parents, June and Barry Steenkamp, spoke publicly throughout the legal process and afterward about their grief and their views on the proceedings. The case remained a focal point in South African and international discussions about gun ownership, domestic violence, celebrity justice, and the country's criminal justice system.
Legacy
The Pistorius case became one of the most heavily reported criminal trials of the 2010s, often compared in media saturation to other globally televised trials. It prompted broad debate about violence against women in South Africa, the dangers of firearms kept for self-defence, and questions of intent in criminal law. Reeva Steenkamp, who had been an advocate against gender-based violence, was widely remembered for that work.
Pistorius's fall from celebrated Olympic and Paralympic hero to convicted murderer made the case a recurring subject of documentaries, books, and news retrospectives. It remains a defining example of how fame, the justice system, and public scrutiny intersect in high-profile criminal cases.
Video Coverage
Frequently asked questions
What was the Oscar Pistorius - Blade Runner Murder case?
Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day, claiming he mistook her for an intruder.
Who was responsible for Oscar Pistorius - Blade Runner Murder?
Oscar Pistorius. Oscar Pistorius (born 1986) is a South African double-amputee sprinter nicknamed the "Blade Runner," who competed on carbon-fibre prosthetics. He became the first amputee to run at the Olympic Games, at London 2012, and won multiple Paralympic gold medals. On 14 February 2013 he shot and killed his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, at his Pretoria home.
Who were the victims of the Oscar Pistorius - Blade Runner Murder case?
The named victims were Reeva Steenkamp.
Where and when did the Oscar Pistorius - Blade Runner Murder case take place?
It took place in Pretoria, South Africa in 2013.
Was the Oscar Pistorius - Blade Runner Murder case solved?
