>> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. >> i thought there was a burglar in my house. before i knew, would i fired four shots at the door. >> he is struggling a lot with what is happening, and he has to leave with the weight of it. she wasn't breathing. >> and in-depth look at the story that stunned the world. murder and the blade runner. olympic runner story is charged with the murder of his girlfriend. >> she's not coming back -- >> he denied it.

she was killed by himself at his house. >> when everybody will be watching for is whether intending to tend to kill her. >> i did not fire at revile. >> we want to believe him. you really really want to believe him. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ hello, and welcome to dateline. we have the story of oscar pistorino's. she was a brilliant model. he was an athlete famous for defying the odds. their futures gloat with promise. then, reveal was gone down. as police investigated, a chilling question transfixed the world. was her death an accident, or was south africa's national hero a murderer?

it's keith morrison with "the rise and fall of oscar pistorius". >> such a time it was, like a different world. this was london, the year was 2012, and olympic history is about to be made. a moment was electrifying, and 45. 4 four seconds the south african double-team running on covered fiber -- was transferred from global to international superstar. with a superhero nickname. the blade runner. he was oscar pistorius. >> he was just this amazing amazing icon. >> and in south africa, he was adored. not just as a remarkable athlete, but as a man of apparently flawless character.

modest good manners, a man with good works. irresistible, of course endorsements in all he was almost interestedly wealthy, and certainly a list for glorious eight months. and then, four bullets in close range through a closed door. a woman was dead, and the myth of the blade runner was blown away. it was 3:20 am, on february 14th 2013th. valentine's day. when police arrived at oscar's house, he told them a harrowing story. >> oscar pistorius, according to him, has suffered death threats. he has been a victim of serious and violent crimes. >> the dark side of wealth and fame, he said, which is why you always kept a pistol in hand.

>> he covered the story for south africa's 24 hour news channel. >> he worked around with a 9 mm gun with him all the time. >> that night, oscar was in his bedside table, when he was suddenly startled awake. >> and he has a noise in the bathroom, he didn't get what he describes as a sense of horror overcoming him. >> he grabbed his gun, -- without putting on -- and went looking for the source of the noise. >> he walked over to the bathroom, screams that this person he believed to be an intruder, get out of my house! get out of my! house and then opens fire. >> right through the bathroom door. and then, he told the police he went back to the bed, where he has been sleeping with his new girlfriend, a 29 year old model and inspiring attorney, that's when oscar said, he made a horrible discovery. rivas wasn't in bed.

>> and it immediately throws on him. that she could be the person in the bathroom. >> he puts on his limbs and tries to break down the door. he then picks up a cricket -- bats which she also kept in his room in protection against burglars or intruders or whatever. ashes down the door with the cricket bat. >> inside he said he found reeva bleeding. >> she was slumped over, but she still alive. he picks her up in his arms, carries her downstairs, she still breathing. >> she's been struck by three bullets, and by the time the police arrived, she was dead. oscar sopped as he told the story. >> he didn't mean to kill her. it was a horrible accident, and according to his words, he is mortified to have taken the life of a person so loved by so many people. >> detectives collected evidence, the bullet whittled or, the cricket bat, they found security camera video showing

reeva arriving at oscars at 6 pm. ten minutes later, by oscar. on the coffee table, they found the valentine's day gift and card from reeva two aussie, as she like to call him it was all such a terrible mistake but two of the tails didn't seem quite right. >> they found reverse cell phone in the bathroom, why would you take that that with their -- middle of the night. more important, why was reba dressed as if pretending to leave when she was shot. an accident, oh no, thought detectives. this was no accident. >> double olympic winner oscar pistorius was charged overnight with the valentine's day murder of his girlfriend. >> it was like an explosion, a huge nationwide shock. oscar pistorius charged with

murder, how is it possible? >> a true hero, international star, in court like a common criminal pleading to be released on bail. >> he walked into the dark and he was shaken. his entire body was shaking. he was overcome, sobbing, struggling to breathe. >> and he seems to be actually genuine -- as far as you can tell. >> it did seem to be -- because it was over three days, that it would be physically impossible for human being to pick that over that time. >> what's he telling the truth? it was rivas reeva's the victim of a terrible accident? millions hope so, because if oscar was lying, paralympic hero must have been hiding a very dark side. >> behind the white hugger of oscar celebrity, a full picture of the bleed runner comes into focus. >> coming up, the oscar

pistorius that the public did not see -- >> oscar just darted swearing at him in going at him. >> fights, floods and the fast crowd. >> is that world all dangerous? >> when dateline continues. ne continues for adventure. your home... for romance. your home for big savings. [ laughs ] hey, mom, have you seen m-- ew. because when you bundle home and auto with progressive, your home is a savings paradise. bundles progressive. your home for savings.

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first, shock. and here in south africa, denial. as the blade runner sat in the dark, charged with murder. reeva a young woman was just beginning to make a name for herself for fighting against domestic abuse and then killed by her boyfriend. but all around the country still in love with it shining hero try to hang on to belief that her death was a nightmarish accident, and nothing more. >> this is a very conflicted narrative because you want to believe him. you really really want to believe him. >> it was a common desire. he must have thought he was firing at a burglar. >> support has been overwhelming from all across the world. >> oscar's manager spoke for two weeks after the shooting. >> its support for him having lost someone really didn't

close to him. >> but then, the question, could they believe? him really? who was he anyway? >> cheers. >> ever since -- she was there with oscar when few knew his name. >> he was religious. he was happy. apparently all the time. you never had terrible days. >> not really, i've got to appoint that i'm really happy. oscar was born without key bones in his feet and lower leg. his parents could've opted for years of re-constructive surgery, but instead, they decided to have authors lower legs amputated. but when he was 11 months old. it was a good decision at the end, said oscar. >> i believe it sets certain things in my life, it changed my personality and processed away to looking at disability.

>> as nbc cameras followed australia around south africa, and always leading up to the 2012 olympics, he seemed grounded, humble, down to earth. >> he had joined charities. this one, dedicated to helping land mine victims, -- >> we are often very lucky to be involved in projects where we've been able to get funding to make them likes. >> i really have exalted this guy. he seemed very aware of his personal power and what he could do with it. >> i really thought that he was a game-changer. new york times reporter spent a couple of weeks with oscar back then, and he too was just pressed. an oscar's home, there's almost an entire shelf of what mandela biographies. an oscar's reads them. he's a smart guy. >> but just before those triumphant olympics, he witnessed a disturbance an

oscar's life. you broke up with his longtime girlfriend samantha taylor. here is a selfie oscar took in happier times. olympics came first, he told samantha. >> he was too focused, too intent on the school, and he didn't feel there was something you could maintain. he broke it off with her. >> after that, a world cerebral, the oscar flew to the seashells, to an episode of south african talk show culpably. oscar's companion on the september trip was samantha taylor, his old girlfriend, the one he broke up with before the olympics. certainly looked here as if oscar dispatch things with her. >> it makes my life a lot easier to spend sin with someone who is. you're very carrying.

>> you're both blushing. >> my face is the color of her dress. >> >> at home of course, oscar wasn't item everywhere he went. when he ordered a brand-new mclaren sportscar, it was noticed like everything he did was noticed. oscar clearly enjoyed the intention, in the end he spend more time with new friends. solid coaches who raised him to him humility, gave way to pals like billionaire financier clinton. seen here on this reality tv show, clifton shorts. and there was a nightclub owner and ex convict, kenny. >> i was a gangster. >> i was a gangster. >> even though we usually see that. if you are out of it, it's easy to say that. >> they loved oscar. love showing him up to a whole new cast of characters. not all of whom are certainly had oscar's best interest in hard. >> is that world at all dangerous for a newbie to become involved? are there sharks out? >> everywhere they are sharks,

yes. >> many behind the wheels of fast and fancy cars. >> he comes with his ferrari's. there's lumber gary's. there's portions. there is mclaren's. there is rose voices. it's very flashy. >> the speed of all kinds past people fast cars. and here at the local formula 1 race drive, he met a crowd to. not the whole place for private races, and their parties up there in clark house. here, oscar amid the kind of people he might never have met had they not been oscar pistorius. here he met the people who pull the thread from the carefully wooden fabric of his life. >> and in particular, his friend vanderbilt, oscar originally accused clinton of having an affair with samantha taylor during the olympics. after oscar first broke up with samantha. >> oscar kept him in just going

off him -- and my girlfriend. i'm running for my country. >> this is south african soccer start mark bachelor. >> he denied clinton and invading samantha taylor and he was so upset by oscar's outburst. he has bachelor to speak to him. >> so he was still shaking up. he asked me -- >> but bachelor, when he phoned oscar, who [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> the way had a checkered past himself. and so he said he knew the signs of a man losing his ballots. hanging out with the wrong people. >> oscar would sit in there and i just become too quickly for him. >> there was a final break out with samantha. friend said she complained

oscar was not pleasant at all. samantha's mother said she was afraid for her daughter safety. the public knew none of that. as far as his fans were concerned, oscar was on top of the world. and so oscar per story us walk the red carpet in november 2012, at the national sports award show with this woman on his arm. the entire country want to know who did she? coming up, reeva had a brilliant mind. she was smart and funny and all those things, but she was brilliant. oscar and reeva's new romans enter an old flame. authorities wonder could jealousy be a motive in the shooting. when dateline returns. was much better. my mind was in a good place.

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if you want to stay out of jail, you need to go good. this is a chance to find a better life for you and your friends. help grandma cross the street. yeah. he's gonna blow it. you think i can't do this? ow! >> police reports of the shooting, she is described as the victim. according to her friends, that is altogether the wrong word to describe read the stan camp. rivas journey to a -- began with a phone call with the foes sought off their

celebrity in south africa. >> he needed a date at the last minute. so i threw myself adam and said come and be my date. >> it was -- when she lit up the red carpet with oscar at the sports era money in 2012. reeva had looks, no question there. but according to her friends, that might have been released of her attributes. >> reeva had a brilliant mind. she was smart and funny and all those things, but she was. >> brilliant gina mars was her roommate. which may be under stating their relationship. rita actually lived with gene and her parents to save money. but also being far from home, she missed her family. and it was comforting to be part of somebody else's. >> he often told me how grateful she was for her upbringing. her family is a very down to earth. they were very humble and exactly the same. >> she grew up in a small farm near the factory town of port elizabeth.

tough enough to came back from the serious fall of a horse. she broke her back. spent eight months in a hospital. had to learn to walk all over again. she attended a devout and diverse catholic school. said dominic's. her students are taught to be service to the poor. by the time she entered the pre-law program at nelson mandela university, she was trying to make a difference to be part of the new south africa. but then i relationship with a man, her first serious boyfriend, turned abusive, frightening, destroyed herself confidence. >> she had spoken about having a previously abusive relationship. >> after graduation, reeva moved far away to the big city, johannesburg. >> she had an unbelievable personality. she had an unbelievable heart. >> he had met reba soon after she arrived in town, and the too quickly fell in love. >> she got everyone together. >> how long did you go out?

together >> for years. >> during which reeva became determined to do something about the kind of domestic violence should experience the hands of that first boyfriend. and one, encouraged her. showed her outlook, her down home sensibilities. >> he was a -- normal, run-of-the-mill guy. >> in one of twists, mark bachelor new reeva back then two when she was dating. >> she was in love so we are talking about when they were gonna have the wedding. >> but before then, reeva wanted to live out of fantasy. she had modeled as a teenager. so to give it another try before going on to law, school she was looking for was gonna take her license. >> her career took off. she appeared in ads, to the commercials, videos, like this one from the men's magazine as a gem. >> did she get a big head? >> no. never. >> >> but by july of 2012, she

broke her news. she wanted for the first time in her life to be on her own. >> she was very busy. so i suppose we spoke going apart, and sometimes you need a break. >> by, then she was speaking out publicly about domestic violence. she only knew oscar the way everybody knew oscar. as the electrifying blade runner in the olympic games. and then, coincidence, four months later, the car dealer from oscar order that mclaren showed him a picture of her. suggested he might want to take you to the sports the words. it was like they were made for each other. both, disciplined, hardworking, will lead, hoping to put their fame to use. in the betterment of others. oscar, victims, and re-victims of domestic violence. >> did you meet? oscar >> i did yes.

he seemed like a gentleman. >> and like a gentleman, lauren them -- one of those encounters, though, for ever be replaying in his mind. >> why did she tell you she was up? two >> she told me how she loved him. she was happy. >> perfectly innocent, said lauren, but did oscar think so? bachelor had seen, he said, how jealous oscar could be about his former girlfriend samantha. he told his friend believe oscar now felt the same way about her. >> she was contacting her, ex was afraid. >> was oscar jealous of him? we don't know. but we do know this, that little coffee date he had with reba, it was on february 12th 2013. 36 hours before oscar killed her.

coming up, prosecutors lay out the case. iphones, bullet holes, rivas clothes, neighbors stories. >> the state has but a huge amount of work, money, an effort into making the case. >> but everybody will be watching whether or not you can approve the intent to kill her. >> we would not have charged him if we did not believe so. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues i had been giving him kibble. it never looked or felt like real food. but with the farmer's dog you can see the pieces of turkey. it smells like actual food. i saw a difference almost overnight. healthy poops, healthy dog, right? as he's aged, he's still quite energetic and youthful. i really attribute that to diet. you know, he's my buddy. my job is to keep my buddy safe and happy. ♪♪ get started at longlivedogs.com

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here's what's happening. police are investigating a shooting at a house party in pittsburgh. at least 11 people were shot, two people dead. we're hearing a first look at some of the images on the scene. the situation is still very fluid and it is not clear what's spurred the shooting or who is behind it. police say they are gathering evidence of multiple crime scenes. now back to dateline.

now back to dateline >> welcome back to "dateline". i'm craig melvin. reeva steenkamp and oscar pistorius we're on a list item. but just months into their relationship, rumors of oscar's jealousy were causing easter. then, on valentines day, the movements and did in a blast of gunfire. now, the man who pulled the trigger was headed headed to court with the world watching. here's keith morrison with "the rise and fall of oscar pistorius". >> four shots through a door. no question, oscar pistorius fired them and that he killed reeva steenkamp. but was it murder? police and prosecutors thought it was from the very first night. as the trial began, everyone was wondering how the state was going to prove the killing of reeva was premeditated. that oscar actually meant to kill her.

>> i think the state has put a huge amount of work and a huge amount of money, and a huge amount of effort into making their case. >> a case that the prosecution argued was just as simple as it looked on day one. >> he can't deny that reeva was killed by himself, at his house. and that four shots were fired at her. >> attorney -- worked for south africa's national proved prosecuting authority. he previewed, cautiously, the prosecution's case against oscar. well everybody will be watching for is whether or not you can prove he intended to kill her. and you sound like a pretty confident the prosecution has enough to be able to prove that? >> we would not have charged him if we didn't believe so. he knew that reeva was in the bathroom and he intended to kill her. >> reeva let stress when she was shot, as if she intended to leave. she had taken herself or with her when she locked herself in the bathroom.

said -- that a spokesperson for south africa's prosecuting authority. >> be believe that reeva was probably running away and she locked herself in the bathroom. >> what's the prosecution's theory about the fact that she was wearing white shorts and a black top? >> it cannot be explained as of now. until such time the accused can take the stand and say, she decided to put on clothes to go to the bathroom. or, she decided to stay i'm going to sleep in my clothes. i'm not going to put my light clothes on. >> tipsters told investigators in the month before the reeva shooting, oscar had recklessly fired his pistol twice before. once through the sunroof of his car, while driving. another time while having lunch at this crowded, upmarket kathy. >> he actually accidentally shoots it. he then asks his friend to take the fall for him, saying that, you know, i'm a well-known person. the media will be all over this.

>> you say you shot the gun? >> help me out. the state is arguing that he's never taken responsibility for anything. ever. everyone keeps making excuses for him. and now a woman is dead. >> weirdly, this happened in the very same restaurant where reeva met with her ex boyfriend, warren. a day and a half before oscar shot her to death. in addition to murder, prosecutors added it, those firearm charges, nickel and dime dine stuff you might see, but the prosecutors had their reasons. >> what they essentially are is part of a strategy by the prosecution to protect present oscar pistorius as a trigger-happy cowboy who reaches for his firearm in moments of stress. >> like the time when four months before reeva's, shooting oscar tweeted about going into full comeback recon mood when he heard a noise in the locker room. what's interesting in that account is what oscar did not do. he did not fire for shots through the door.

so, what about the time he actually did fire his pistol? during that awful night he took reeva's life? we made a replica of oscar's bathroom or, a thick, solid wood. on a target range, we fired the same type of nine millimeter round from the same type of pistol oscar used. bullets ripped right through the door as if it was nothing more than gossamer. we also learned there something unique about this 9 mm. it's not only powerful, but exceptionally loud. so much so it's impossible to convey without blowing out your speakers. 160 decibels. louder than a jet engine at takeoff. makes your ears ring. according to prosecution spokesman -- many of oscar's neighbors heard those gunshots and something possibly more damning. screams.

>> and it's not just, by the way, the screams. it's whether did people actually hear arguments prior to the incident. did you hear a woman shouting, something, irritated and annoyed, angry. and a man, screaming, shouting, and so on. >> the prosecution named more than a dozen neighbors as potential witnesses. five of them, according to the pretravel report, said they heard arguing and shots, followed by the screams of a woman. and then further shots. >> and if people said, we heard gunshots, screams, gunshots, screen. you know. it's going to be pretty much for him to argue that the state didn't know that the woman screaming illicit the girlfriend. >> how would oscar ever be able to explain that way? in court? >> coming up. a shining olympic hero hiding a secret terror. >> this is a person who was living essentially, and a city affair.

>> he seemed to have a great deal of fear, reasonable or not. of people breaking into his house. >> you have to buy his story then, that he had a true tour in the bathroom? >> yes. >> when "dateline" continues. e" continues ntistry work for your life. so we offer a complete exam and x-rays free to new patients without insurance - everyday. plus, patients get 20% off their treatment plan. we're on your corner and in your corner every step of the way. because your anything is our everything. aspen dental. anything to make you smile. book today at aspendental.com, walk in, or call 1-800-aspendental. itchy allergens coming right at your eyes. and pills and nasal sprays don't target the source of the itch. but 24 hour pataday once daily relief extra strength does. it works right on the cells that make your eyes itch. with a single drop. it's the only over-the-counter, once-daily,

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thought he was firing in self defense. who he fired through his bathroom door he believed was an intruder. >> the story resonated in south africa, where home invasion robbery is more common. and the murder rate, more than seven times greater than in the u.s.. >> everybody knows about gated communities, of course, but this one is called the security village, in there somewhere is oscar's house. behind the high wall and the 220 volt wire that strong across the tower, we can give you a shot if you want. but on the side of a wall, in case you are an intruder thinking of coming inside, it's a place called the farm in. it's a wild animal place. and you have to run into a cheetah or a lion, if you are an intruder. >> in south africa, there's no safe place. because they target you and want you in the house, they will get you in your house.

>> oscar, is both a man of wealth and robbery victim. >> a lot of people have been robbed the money in their houses. >> you're gonna buy oscar story than, that he thought that there was an intruder in the bathroom? >> yes, >> it makes sense to you. it makes so much sense. >> oscar's attorneys said reporter could argue oscar had been fearful his entire life for good reason. >> i think there is an awareness from his defense team that they cannot present oscar as this perfect human being, who was so idealized by so many people. there has to be an acknowledgment, a real acknowledgment, of the kind of issues that he's had. that always been running under the surface. >> in fact, she said she learned oscar planned to ask the court to hold him to a different standard of justice. >> but he can't be judged according to the standards of the reasonable man. >> south africa self-defense law is based on how a

reasonable man would react to an attack. he said oscar's defense team would portray him as something other than that. >> we need to take into account that this is a person who has persistently said that he felt the most vulnerable on his steps, and was living essentially in a state of fear and the state of terror. and you need to judge him by that standard. >> oscar pistorius fought for years to get into the olympics, to be treated like everybody else there. but now, he was expected to make the opposite argument in court. that he was different. a double amputee who lived in constant fear of the dark. >> oscar didn't sleep well. oscar didn't sit still. he was restless all the time. >> michael soak a lot of, while working on his new york's time sunday magazine story, said he observed that in private, oscar was often afraid.

>> he seemed to have a great deal of fear, reasonable or not, of people breaking into his house. one day when i was with him, we came back into the house, and he said, by the way, there was a noise in the house last night. and i thought it was an intruder, and i came downstairs with my gun. >> armed and afraid, a dangerous combination. >> the account oscar gave the night he shot reeva seemed very telling, but his portrayal himself was a far cry from the heroic blade runner. i heard a noise in the bathroom. i felt a sense of terror rushing over me. i believe that someone had entered my house. i was too scared to switch a light on. i ground my nine millimeter pistol from underneath my bed. i fired shots at the toilet door and shouted for her to phone the police. i was still too scared to switch on the light. >> too scared to switch on a light! , but not too scared to pull the trigger on a pistol, as

this footage from sky news video reveals oscar was very comfortable with a gun in his hands, and knew quite well the damage it can do. oscar pistorius with a judge. >> coming up, her shots, her screams were petrifying. it was clear that this person's life was in danger. neighbors tell their stories, and oscar tells his. i sat over even i cried -- >> she wasn't breathing. when dateline continues.

welcome back. more than a year have passed since oscar pistorius fired four bullets through a bathroom door killing reeva steenkamp. now, the beloved olympic was bound to have a day scored in the world will be watching. the scene, promised to be a spectacle, but one with very real consequences. here's keith morrison with the conclusion off "the rise and fall of oscar pistorius". >> the trial of oscar pistorius in the spring of 2014 was an international event, streamed live to the world. >> to understand the charges? >> i do. i do my lady.

>> how do you? plead >> not guilty my lady. >> it was also dramatic. there were the neighbors. five of them, who testified off camera. they heard the gunshots when reeva, but not just gunshots, they heard reeva terrified. >> her shouts, her screams were putrefying. i knew something terrible was happening in that house. >> the neighbor's husband even identical account. >> she started screaming again. at that point, the intensity and the fear in her voice escalated. >> and it was clear that this person's life was in danger. that's when the first shots were fired. >> oscar's next door neighbor justified she heard a loud argument more than an hour before the shooting. >> i heard sounds. it seemed like somebody was involved in a fight. and these people are talking talking and loud voices, my lady.

and around about 3:00 in the morning, i heard four gunshots. >> which went through the door behind which reeva steenkamp was standing, said the prosecutor. he brought the door to court, bullet holes all along. and then the states ballistic experts described how, shut by, shut through that door, oscar took reeva's life. >> most probably, it will gonna leave us -- when she was in a position between the door in the toilet seat. >> that shot shatters rivas hip. she fell back onto a magazine stand. but her hands up in a futile attempt to protect him serve, as a tech and round pass through our upper right arm. the third shot, missed, but the fourth, one struck her in the head. >> if we look at her defensive position, it's like if you see in this position, what a wound on her left hand, just between

the two fingers. would have peppery it'd there. and she was facing down. it was penetrating there. the head of the deceased. >> the story response to his destiny, covered his head, flocking his ears and vomiting into a trash can. prosecutors made the case that oscar was a man governed by his emotions, not just grief and guilt, a scene in court. but also jealousy and rage. to make that case, the state admitted a string of text messages sent three weeks before the shooting. reeva to oscar. i was not flirting with anyone today -- and scared of you sometimes and how you snap it me. oscar responded, i was upset that you just left me after we got food and went to talk to a guy -- i was watching you touch his arm and ignore me. >> then, with six days to live, here was reeva again to oscar. >> i can be attacked by

outsiders for dating you, and be attacked by you, the one person i deserve protection from. but oscar's lawyer said the tax were nothing more than a lovers spat. so, what really happened that night? well, only one person survived, and he oscar pistorius himself took the stand off camera to tell the world his version. >> i heard a window open in the bathroom. i thought that there was a burglar that was gaining entry into my home. the first thing that runs through my mind was that i needed to arm myself. that i needed to protect reeve and i, and that i needed to get my gun. and then i heard a noise from inside the toilet. what i perceive to be somebody coming out of the toilet. before i know with, i fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing, i couldn't hear anything. before i know with, i fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing, i

couldn't hear anything. so i shouted. i kept on shouting for reeva to phone the police. and i lock the door, and i flung the door open -- and i throw it open. and i sat over reeva, and i cried. she wasn't breathing. >> south africa does not have a jury system, so oscar's testimony was for an audience of one, the judge will determine oscar's guilt or innocence. and five months later, on judgment day finally arrived, >> mr. perez sorriest the standup >> the judge made it clear she believed oscar. >> it was a genuine mistake as he thought he was shooting at an intruder behind the toilet door. the accused is found not guilty,

and is discharged. >> not guilty of murder. the judge did find a oscar guilty of a lesser charge, culpable homicide. in the western,'s manslaughter. reeva steenkamp we're devastated. >> i want to the truth, and we didn't get the truth. that's the whole point, we did not get the truth. that's not what i believe or they believe happened. that's what justice, and that's not justice. >> for them, the news only got worse. the senate was much more lenient than expected. five years, and then just a year into the -- sentence, this happened. >> there is late news tonight from south africa. nbc news has learned one-time olympic hero oscar pistorius has been released from prison. >> oscar was allowed to move into his uncles compound to serve out the rest of a sentence. it was a strange ending to a strange story.

except that wasn't the end of the story. in south africa, the rules are little different. prosecutors can appeal verdicts, which they did. and after the trial, after oscar was sent home, a higher court upgraded his conviction. >> the accused conviction from court one, and replaced with the following, guilty of murder. >> the court increased oscar sentenced to 2 to 13 years, and so he went back to prison. he will be eligible for parole in 2023. there is a postscript of this story. and it has to do with mark bachelor, that one time soccer legend. >> what is it like to have 100,000 people, and they're all cheering your name? >> sometimes it can be pretty miserable. >> on july 14th, 2019. as he sat in his car in front of the home where we had met him. two gunmen, unknown, fired into

mark bachelor's car. >> police are investigating a case of murder. his murder was national news. the south african broadcasting company was all over it. there were rumors that bachelor had gotten mixed up with a fast crowd. not to sound old school. which got us thinking about the time this sports god told us how, like oscar, he struggled to stay grounded as his own fame and money soared. >> it just gets to fake, and so much about who has more money, who has better cars. >> there is an eternal truth to the ancient myth about filing too close to the sun. the one celebrated footballer, or shining star of the london olympics. who flew on his flashing blades. and fell so fast, and so far.

>> that's all for this edition of "dateline" i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. coming up on the show! if you like me have mean horrified by what the civilians in just wait horror until you meet russia's -- new top ukraine commander on the will meet ground. he is russia's the butcher of top commander on the syria. plus, i will ground. the so-called say it again butcher of syria. for the people plus, in the back. defund the police has defund the absolutely nothing to police has nothing to do with any do with any violence you thing that might be currently you will currently witnessing and an american be seeing in any city. we will tell major american city. you about the republican and we'll tell you and democratic about the lawmakers in texas. they democratic -- as actually agree on something they take us that state officials are to agree on about to carry out something, and state as officials are irreversible injustice, going to if they execute carry out an a woman in spite of what has been seen as the overwhelming injustice evidence exonerating her. where -- .