Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
The upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, titled “The Rise and Fall of Oscar Pistorius,” will air on Oxygen on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It will delve into the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate. She was shot and murdered by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, a South African double-amputee Olympic runner.
The BBC reported that on January 5, 2024, Oscar Pistorius was released on parole after serving half of his more than 13-year-long sentence. Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison after he was found guilty of Reeva Steenkamp’s murder. Steenkamp was killed on February 14, 2013, at Pistorius’ home in Pretoria, following which he was immediately arrested. He admitted to shooting her but alleged that the killing was accidental since he assumed she was an intruder.
In September 2014, the court acquitted Pistorius of murder charges. They found him guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide. He was also convicted of recklessly firing a gun in a crowded restaurant. He was then sentenced to six years in prison but served only one year before he was under house arrest. According to Reuters, in December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the lesser charge and then convicted Oscar Pistorius of murder.
Another Reuters report mentioned that Oscar Pistorius is out on parole and is currently at his residence. However, the outlet noted that South Africa’s correctional services department hasn’t specified details about his house address. Pistorius will now have to follow several parole conditions, including confinement to the home for certain hours of the day. He will not be allowed to consume alcohol and must not speak to the media. The Paralympian will also have to take therapy to work on his anger outbursts and gender-based violence.
What did Reeva Steenkamp’s autopsy reveal?
According to Oscar Pistorius’ statement, Reeva Steenkamp was shot four times. He reportedly opened fire through a locked toilet door. He used an expanding bullet to cause maximum tissue damage, as revealed by fragments in the victim’s skull. She was shot in the head, hip, and elbow. Any of the bullets could have reportedly caused her death because of the extent of bleeding caused by the specially designed expanding bullets, The Guardian reported.
One of the bullets entered Steenkamp’s brain after hitting the right side of the head and fracturing her skull. This wound made it unlikely that the victim survived for long after she was shot. She may have immediately lost her consciousness.
Another bullet then hit her above her right elbow, which damaged her upper arm. Steenkamp would not have been able to use her arm if she survived the wounds. The bullets were most likely fired through a wooden object such as a door. Injuries from bullet fragments, pieces of her bones, and wood splinters from the doors in the house were also noticed.
The autopsy also revealed that Steenkamp would have eaten not more than two hours before she was shot. This was further contradictory to Pistorius’ statement that they had eaten and were in bed by 10 p.m. the previous night. The shooting occurred after 3 a.m. on February 14, 2013.
Oscar Pistorius, popularly known as the “Blade Runner,” became a renowned athlete with the help of prosthetics. He was allowed to compete with able-bodied athletes in the London Olympics in 2012. According to AP News, he became the world’s first double-amputee to run in the Olympics.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered’s episode on Reeva Steenkamp’s murder will air on Oxygen on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
