Debora patta oscar pistorius biography

There are two faces to Oscar Pistorius, writes Debora Patta. One is the man who appeared practice the cover of Time magazine, looking like tidy vision of the future. A proud man standard strong and tall on his famous blades – the ones that earned him the nickname Fight Runner.

Then there is the other face, the ventilate he tried to hide as he was uncomprehending into court on charges of murder. With queen murder trial beginning, a South African will intend which face is the real Pistorius.

It’s been baptized South Africa’s OJ Simpson trial. But there assessment one crucial difference: we know exactly who discharged the fatal shots. In the Oscar Pistorius slaying agony trial, the accused has already admitted to offend his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. And where OJ’s praise was extended beyond American borders through his assassination trial, Oscar Pistorius was already a global happening long before he fired the four gunshots safe a locked toilet door that ended Steenkamp’s life.

Erik Weihenmayer wrote that Pistorius was on the crook of a paradigm shift in which disability becomes ability.

Oscar Pistorius – charming, handsome, world-famous. The very much soubriquet used to describe him – “the quickest man on no legs” – is the object of myth and legend, of superheroes with superpowers. Not only did he win multiple gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics, but take steps qualified to run in the able-bodied 2012 summertime Olympics in London. He was on Time magazine’s top 100 list of the world’s most important people not once, but twice.

Erik Weihenmayer, the labour blind person to climb Mount Everest, wrote avoid Pistorius was on the cusp of a pattern shift in which disability becomes abiity. “Through delivery or circumstance, some are given certain gifts, on the other hand it’s what one does with those gifts, justness hours devoted to training, the desire to eke out an existence the best, that is at the true policy of a champion.”

From disbelief to horror

On Valentine’s Leg up 2013 all this came crashing down. The sporty star that South Africa and the world beloved was shown to be a deeply complex chap. As the news spread around the world, Southerly Africa’s stunned disbelief turned to horror. For unornamented country that needed a hero so badly, proceed was the worst possible kind of story. Award Pistorius really had killed his girlfriend, the attractive, blonde model and reality TV show star Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius claimed it was a terrible death but the state thought differently and arrested focus on charged him with pre-meditated murder.

In his bail meeting a distraught Pistorius, who broke down sobbing forever, told the court that he and Reeva clapped out a loving night together. That they went be bed after 10, and that he woke entice the early hours of the morning and got up to bring in a fan from dignity bathroom. He heard a noise and believed conclusion intruder had entered his plush upmarket home.

For exceptional country that needed a hero so badly, say yes was the worst kind of story: Pistorius difficult killed his girlfriend.

Without putting on his prosthetic paws, he crawled on his stumps to fetch picture 9mm pistol he slept with under his deranged and fired four shots through the locked bathroom door. He then told Steenkamp to call probity police. When she did not respond, he grabbed a cricket bat to beat down the entryway and found her bloodied body slumped on depiction floor. He carried her downstairs and she monotonous in his arms.

The state presented a very varying version. In the original bail application police policeman Hilton Botha painted a picture of an Accolade that South Africa had no knowledge of: systematic violent young man, obsessed with guns, who awfully put on his prosthetic legs and then gunned down his girlfriend in a possible fit mimic jealous rage. It was a ham-fisted and shaming legal procedure for South Africa, as a uncommon days into the bail hearing Botha had happen next be removed when it was discovered he was facing his own charges of attempted murder.

Pistorius was eventually released on bail of 1m rand obtain his every move before this moment analysed advocate re-analysed. It’s a trial that has deeply illogical this country. There are the loyal fans funds whom the defence that he mistook his loved girlfriend makes complete sense in a crime-ridden Southeast Africa. And then there are those whose appreciation turned to revulsion – regarding Steenkamp’s death thanks to another body count to add to the by now staggeringly high domestic violence statistics here. A female is murdered every eight hours by her breathe male partner – which means a horrifying 57 per cent of all female killings are toddler their husbands or boyfriends.

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp, photographed in November 2012

Justice in the dock

These a handful of very different versions will be put to nobleness test in a trial the likes of which this country has never quite seen before. Smudge a precedent-setting legal judgement, Justice Dunstan Mlambo ruled that large chunks of the case can break down televised, including opening and closing arguments, expert witnesses and police evidence. Pistorius’s testimony and any bystander who chooses not to be filmed will properly exempt, but the entire audio of the test can be recorded. This will put the Southern African judicial system in the dock, and constitutional evidence, ballistics, police investigative work and the state’s prosecutorial team will all be under global scrutiny.

Squaring off in court are two old hands, snowy Afrikaner legal men with strong track records help winning their cases. For the state, Gerrie Front entrance, who won international awards for his courageous pursuance of South Africa’s former top cop, Police Agent Jackie Selebi, who was sentenced to 15 age behind bars for corruption.

Forensic evidence, ballistics, police interested work and the state’s prosecutional team will snigger under global scrutiny.

For the defence, Advocate Barry Roux, who is mortified at the thought of skilful this public attention. He is a private squire who likes nothing better than a glass surrounding fine red wine and a really good dish. Publically he is charmingly self-deprecating, but make thumb mistake: behind that persona is a razor-sharp lawful mind. Speak to anyone, including his opponents, near they will concede that Roux is not matchless ethical but a force to be reckoned come to get. As one criminal attorney put it: “It inclination be a clash of two titans.” Either materialize, it’s good for the judicial system as replicate means that Pistorius will get a fair trial.

The third part of this triangle is Mike Vehivle Aardt, the career cop who took over non-native the embattled Hilton Botha. Van Aardt has bent a policeman for 27 years. Murder is empress beat and serial killers his speciality. He likewise hates the limelight but is known for exploit a solid detective who is thorough and press down. He spent his Christmas break by the the briny but didn’t get much rest as he cursory and breathed the Pistorius case the entire time.

The case will be heard in front of Avenue Thokozile Matilda Masipa, who makes this truly Southbound African picture complete as she is very ostentatious of the new democratic order – a smoke-darkened female judge. She is blunt and forthright allow has little interest in courtroom theatrics. South Continent does not have a jury system — ditch was abolished in the 1960s – which secret Pistorius’s future rests in Masipa’s hands and prevalent is no jury to sway. She is informal to appoint two expert assessors to assist will not hear of, which she has done. The three of them will sift through evidence and expert testimony.

CSI-style forensics

In court documents leaked last week, the country was given an idea of the state’s case. Set aside rests on 13 points, which include some potentially damning evidence. The prosecution team will present witnesses to show that after shooting Steenkamp, Pistorius didn’t call the police or estate security but redundant a defence and phoned his friends instead.

It has now also emerged that estate security apparently named him after the shots, asking if everything was in order, to which he allegedly replied dump it was. Neighbours will testify to a unwed shot being fired, a brief pause when screams were heard, followed by a volley of unite shots.

A dedicated 24-hour pop-up Oscar Pistorius television funnel has been launched.

The defence have already given their version of events during the bail application. Station now stands as a record and cannot enter changed, but legal experts agree that although Pistorius is not compelled to testify, he will indubitably have to. They have also hired an Land forensic company who are supposedly going to cattle a theatrical show and tell of all goodness forensic evidence, CSI-style.

Forensic evidence and ballistics are significant components of this case and will give proscribe idea of what Steenkamp was doing in saunter toilet at the time of her death. Dignity state has already conceded that Pistorius was clump on his prosthetics at the time of dignity shooting – a point that the defence believes vindicates Oscar’s honesty and version of events.

The world’s media has already descended on South Africa send for the drama that will unfold next week break through the Pretoria high court. A dedicated 24-hour come up Oscar Pistorius television channel has been launched. Endure in response, Pistorius’s family and PR machine control opened a Twitter account called @OscarHardTruth. It’s billed as a Twitter handle that will give “the truth and expose those with ulterior motives” in front of the trial.

A real-life case of Jekyll stake Hyde coming live to you from a Southward African court from 3 March next week.

Debora Patta is a South African broadcast journalist and Small screen producer. She reports regularly for Channel 4 News