10 Murder Trials That Shocked The World
9. Oscar Pistorius (2014) - Paralympian Was Found Guilty Of Culpable Homicide After Shooting Dead His Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
For many Valentine's Day is one where they can celebrate their love for their partner - but, for Oscar Pistorius, it marks the anniversary of the date he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The Paralympian - known as Blade Runner or The Fastest Man On No Legs - became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal in 2011, but his demise came less than two years later at his own home in Pretoria, South Africa.
Seen by many as a beacon of the Paralympic movement and someone who all disabled athletes could look up to, the man who captured the imagination of the sporting world during the London 2012 Games shocked a global audience when he was arrested on February 14, 2013, for shooting dead his girlfriend.
Claiming to have mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder in the bathroom, Pistorius fired multiple times through the closed door, killing his model girlfriend. After admitting killing her, but adamant he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder, Pistorius' murder trial began in March 2014. This trial was watched by millions worldwide as the whole thing was shown on TV - due to the fact laws are more lax in South Africa when it comes to broadcasting court cases - and there was outrage at the outcome.
Pistorius received a psychiatric examination and it was determined that he had a generalised anxiety disorder, but that he could still be held criminally responsible. On September 12, 2014, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, a firearm-related charge and of reckless endangerment related to discharging a firearm in a restaurant - and he received a maximum five-year sentence (with a concurrent three-year suspended term alongside).
Currently the South African state are attempting to appeal the verdict in order to have Pistorius found guilty of premeditated murder instead - but the athlete is serving his sentence as this process is on-going. The sporting world, and most particularly the Paralympic movement, have yet to fully recover from the shock of this case.