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Oscar Pistorius' alleged murder of girlfriend Reeva Sttenkamp has shocked and captivated not just the country of South Africa, where Pistorius is a national hero, but the entire world. Not only have there been many twists and turns already in the Pistorius case, but others involved in the case have also encountered their own troubles, making it a tangled web indeed. Here are those twists and turns in the Pistorius saga.
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Before he was charged with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius was one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. He was the first double amputee to win a medal in an able-bodied meet in the 2011 World Championships, and he became the first amputee to participate in the Olympics when he ran in two events for South Africa in London in 2012. That's what makes the recent events seem all the more shocking.
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Reeva Steenkamp, also a South African, had been a model since the age of 14, appearing in magazines like FHM, where she was ranked #40 in the 100 Sexiest Women's issue in 2011 and 45 in 2012. She also applied to the bar, and hoped to be a qualified legal advocate by age 30.
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The pair met in November 2012 and started dating.
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On Valentine's Day 2013, Pistorius fired four shots into the bathroom door, killing Steenkamp. Police reports say witnesses had heard the couple arguing before the shots were fired.
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Pistorius was questioned by police for hours, then left the station with his head down and covered by a hoodie to avoid photographers. Police said they had been called to Pistorius' home before to intercede in domestic disputes.
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Pistorius told those in the courtroom four days later that it had been an accidental shooting, that he thought Steenkamp was a robber, and he sobbed as his lawyer read his statement. The prosecution countered that it was premeditated murder.
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On the same day, Reeva Steenkamp's family and friends said good-bye to her in a service in the family hometown of Port Elizabeth. Steenkamp was cremated.
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Then the case took another strange twist, as people involved in the case suddenly became involved in crimes of their own. The first domino to fall was Hilton Botha, the lead detective in the Pistorius murder case. On Feb. 21, attempted murder charges were brought against him for firing into a minibus full of passengers in 2011.
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Then, three days later, it was revealed that Pistorius' older brother Carl (left, with sister Aimee), was on trial for culpable homicide for killing a female motorcyclist in 2008.
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Feb. 22, Pistorius was released on bail for $113,000 and the case was postponed until June 4. He was also ordered to hand over firearms and his two South African passports, avoid his home and all witnesses, report to a police station twice a week and abstain from drinking alcohol.
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The trial so far has been a media circus, with television, newspaper and radio reporters camping out at the Pretoria police station to wait for Pistorius to emerge.
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Then, on Feb. 26, another bombshell, as the judge in the case, Magistrate Desmond Nair, confirmed that he is the first cousin of a woman who killed her two children and then committed suicide last weekend.
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On the evening of Feb. 26, Pistorius held a private memorial service of his own for Steenkamp at the home of his uncle Arnold, where Pistorius has been staying since he was released on bail.
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One life lost, several others shattered. How many more twists will the Oscar Pistorius case take before it's conclusion? And what surprises lay ahead in this most unorthodox of events? We won't know until the trial begins June 4.
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Oscar Pistorius' alleged murder of girlfriend Reeva Sttenkamp has shocked and captivated not just the country of South Africa, where Pistorius is a national hero, but the entire world. Not only have there been many twists and turns already in the Pistorius case, but others involved in the case have also encountered their own troubles, making it a tangled web indeed. Here are those twists and turns in the Pistorius saga.
Photo: Getty Images
