The State v. Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (2014-2017): The Reeva Steenkamp Murder

Case at a Glance

Who Is Oscar Pistorius?

Oscar Pistorius was one of the most celebrated athletes in the world before the shooting. Born on November 22, 1986, in Johannesburg, both of his legs were amputated below the knee at 11 months old due to a congenital condition affecting his fibula. He grew up with prosthetic legs but did not let them restrict his ambitions.

Pistorius won 6 sprint gold medals across 3 Paralympic Games in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), and London (2012). His carbon-fibre prosthetic running blades earned him the global nickname the Blade Runner. At the 2012 London Olympics, he became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games, reaching the semi-finals of the 400-meter event.

Reeva Steenkamp was a model, paralegal, and television personality who had appeared on South Africa's Tropika Island of Treasure. She and Pistorius had been dating for approximately 3 months.

The Shooting: February 14, 2013

At approximately 3:17 a.m. on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2013, Pistorius fired 4 shots through the closed door of his bathroom toilet cubicle at his home in the Silver Woods Estate gated community in Pretoria. Steenkamp was struck by 3 of the 4 bullets. She died from her wounds.

Pistorius immediately called for help and carried Steenkamp downstairs. Neighbors heard a woman screaming before the shots, then heard shots, then silence. Oscar called the estate manager and a friend before calling emergency services.

Pistorius's Defense: I Thought She Was an Intruder

Pistorius told police and testified in court that he woke during the night, heard a noise in the bathroom, and believed an intruder was hiding in the toilet cubicle. Fearing for his safety, he fired through the locked toilet door. He said he did not know Steenkamp was in the bathroom and believed she was asleep in bed beside him. He did not call out to her before shooting.

Prosecutors rejected this account. They argued Steenkamp and Pistorius had a violent argument that night. Neighbors testified they heard a woman screaming before the shots. Prosecutors contended Pistorius knew Steenkamp was behind the door and deliberately shot her after the argument.

The Legal Complexity: Murder vs. Culpable Homicide in South Africa

South Africa has no jury trials for serious crimes. Murder is decided by a judge alone. South African criminal law recognizes 2 forms of murder relevant to this case:

• Intentional murder (dolus directus): The accused intended to kill the specific victim.
• Murder by dolus eventualis: The accused foresaw death as a real possibility and proceeded regardless.

The prosecution argued Pistorius at minimum knew that firing 4 shots through a closed door at a person would likely cause death. Even if he genuinely believed it was an intruder rather than Steenkamp, he foresaw death as a possible result and shot anyway. That, they argued, constituted murder under dolus eventualis.

Culpable homicide applies where the accused caused death negligently but without intent. Judge Masipa's initial finding that Pistorius committed culpable homicide because he acted negligently rather than with intent was later overturned on appeal as legally incorrect.

The Trial, Initial Verdict, and Appeals

Initial Verdict: Culpable Homicide (September 2014)

Judge Masipa delivered her verdict on September 12, 2014. She acquitted Pistorius of murder, finding the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill. She convicted him instead of culpable homicide, sentencing him to 5 years in prison. He was released to house arrest in October 2015, having served just over 1 year.

Supreme Court Appeal: Murder Conviction (December 2015)

Prosecutors appealed the culpable homicide finding. The Supreme Court of Appeal found in December 2015 that Judge Masipa had misapplied the dolus eventualis doctrine. The Supreme Court held that Pistorius, by firing 4 shots into a small, enclosed cubicle, must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door would likely die. The conviction was upgraded to murder. Pistorius was returned to prison.

Resentencing: 6 Years, Then 13 Years and 5 Months

In July 2016, Judge Masipa resentenced Pistorius to 6 years in prison for murder, a sentence widely condemned as far below the 15-year minimum that South African law required for murder. The state appealed again. In November 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeal increased Pistorius's sentence to 13 years and 5 months, the minimum legally permissible sentence for murder in South Africa at the time the crime was committed.

Is Oscar Pistorius Still in Jail?

Is Oscar Pistorius still in jail? No. Oscar Pistorius was released on parole on January 5, 2024, from Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria.

Is Oscar Pistorius still in prison? No. He was released on parole in January 2024 after serving approximately 9 years of his 13-year, 5-month sentence.

South African law makes serious offenders eligible for parole after serving at least half their sentence. Pistorius had completed more than half his term. The Constitutional Court confirmed his parole eligibility date was backdated to July 2016, when the murder conviction was first imposed. Pistorius now lives under parole conditions, including anger management requirements, community service, restrictions on travel, and regular check-ins with parole officials. His parole conditions run until December 2029, when his full sentence expires.

Why Did Oscar Pistorius Shoot His Girlfriend?

The court never definitively ruled on whether the shooting was intentional murder following an argument or a tragic mistake involving a perceived intruder. The murder conviction rested on dolus eventualis: even if Pistorius genuinely believed an intruder was in the cubicle, he foresaw that the person would almost certainly die from 4 gunshots fired at close range in an enclosed space. That reckless indifference to human life constituted murder under South African law.

June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, has stated she believes Oscar knew Reeva was behind the door. The court did not make a finding on that disputed question.

Reeva Steenkamp's Legacy

Reeva Steenkamp has not been forgotten. June Steenkamp established the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation to combat gender-based violence in South Africa. The foundation provides support to women affected by domestic violence and uses Reeva's name and story to advocate for change. Reeva's mother has spoken publicly about the danger of domestic abuse and has expressed her grief with remarkable dignity throughout the years of legal proceedings.

Timeline

The Oscar Pistorius case reshaped South African law on dolus eventualis, generated years of legal proceedings, and ultimately produced a sentence that many felt inadequately reflected the gravity of taking a human life.