Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva's tragic final hours before being gunned down
Oscar Pistorius was just 26 when he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, shooting her four times through the bathroom door of his home in Pretoria, South Africa.
Then a global superstar athlete, he claimed he had mistaken his other half for a burglar but prosecutors successfully argued it was premeditated murder. As the former Paralympian is released today after serving eight and a half years at the low-security Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, we detail what we know about what happened in the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2013...
Model and law graduate Reeva, 29, had been dating the elite sprinter for three months after meeting him on South Africa's A-list social circuit. She had been staying overnight at his home, located in a gated community in Silver Lakes, Pretoria, for a few days and just hours before she was killed, gave him a Valentine's card and gift.
Pistorius claimed the couple enjoyed a quiet night on February 13 and after eating dinner, were in bed by 10pm. But an expert pathologist, who found Reeva had been shot dead after 3am, surmised she had eaten no more than two hours before this time.
Pistorius had been dating Reeva for three months when he killed her (BBC/VeryMuchSo Productions/Getty/Alex Pilakoutas)
The disgraced athlete has always claimed shooting his girlfriend was a tragic accident (AFP/Getty Images)It was the first in a series of lies the disgraced star told the authorities. Neighbours had in fact heard the couple argue that evening and one later woke to hear a woman's cries and four gunshots being fired.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
Reeva was struck when she was cowering with fear having locked herself in the ensuite bathroom of the bedroom she was sleeping in with her killer beau. Ballistic experts found she had been shot in the waist before collapsing to the ground. A further shot entered her arm and another fatally penetrated her skull.
Pistorius called the manager of the gated community he lived in at 3.19am and phoned for an ambulance a minute later. The murderer bashed the bathroom door in with a cricket bat, carrying his girlfriend downstairs and giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
When Detective Botha arrived at 4.15am, he found Reeva being treated by paramedics. “There was a lot of blood and I saw the body at the bottom of the staircase covered in towels,” he said. Despite the medics' best efforts, the damage inflicted by Pistorius was too severe. Reeva quickly lost her fight for life and took her last breath, with paramedics declaring time.
The bloodied cricket bat Pistorius used to break down the bathroom door (Pistorius/Amazon Prime)The police officer found the killer in his garage wearing a shirt and shorts, both of which were covered in blood. "His head was in his hands and he was crying," he said.
The double below-the-knee amputee claimed he had been asleep and startled by a noise he thought was an intruder. He grabbed his weapon, he sobbed, firing through the bathroom door at the threat.
Detectives quickly pulled apart the sportsman's story as the evidence began to paint a different picture of a hot-headed killer. Reeva had her mobile phone with her in the bathroom and her shorts were on, indicating that she hadn't gotten up to use the toilet but to hide from her lover amidst a furious quarrel.
Neighbours had heard the pair argue earlier that night. And while South Africa has some of the world's highest rates of violent crime with home owners bearing arms commonplace, Pistorius' gated complex was protected by a three-metre wall and electric fence and detectives found no evidence of a disturbance.
The 9mm pistol used to kill the model and law graduate (Pistorius/Amazon Prime)The former sports star has never changed his story nor explained why he really killed his girlfriend but in a text message weeks before, Reeva had said to him: "I'm scared of you" and referred to his jealous tantrums when she mentioned ex-boyfriends or talked innocently to other men.
Hours before she was killed, Reeva had given her boyfriend a card and a present for Valentine's Day. He had not reciprocated. Pistorius opened his Valentine's gift, a wrapped frame filled with photos of the couple, months after he killed Reeva. He also opened his card and read its message in court: "Roses are red, violets are blue. I think today is a good day to tell you that... I love you."
The model's father Barry died last September of a stroke. Her mother June has told how the couple were tortured by the thought of her daughter's final moments. “Imagine what she went through in that toilet, petrified, waiting for God to save her,” she said. “That’s the worst part. Barry and I both have nightmares and it’s always about that, because we always protected her.”
Russian model killed after calling Putin a 'psychopath' was strangled by her ex
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
