[suspenseful music] [dramatic music] hello, and welcome to how it really happened. Im jesse l. Martin. The shocking shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp at the Hands Of Olympic SuperstarOscar Pistorius pulled the curtain back on the storybook romance of a favorite celebrity couple. It started as a charming love affair between a world famous athlete and a Fashion Model with brains and beauty and ended with four hollow point bullets fired through the Bathroom Door. Tonight, was it a terrible accident or a callous murder . This is how it really happened. [suspenseful music] [cheers, applause] scott roder if you take the celebrity of lebron james and you combined it with the appeal of leonardo dicaprio, that was what Oscar Pistorius was. Reporter he is known as the blade runner, the fastest man with no legs. Michael sokolove he was strong. He was fast. He was explosive. Reporter a moment of history to see the first paralympian competing in Track And Field at an ablebodied games, and he got through his 400 meters heat. John carlin Oscar Pistorius was at the absolute peak of his celebrity, wealth, and success. Michael sokolove oscar was named south africas sexiest man. And it wasnt only the looks. It was this persona that he exuded. He was enormously likeable. Oscar pistorius being an international sportsman, theres a lot of responsibility that comes with that. So having to toggle that and remembering that there are kids out there especially that look up to you is definitely something that you need to keep at the back of your mind. Oscar, at that point, was one of the most famous athletes in the world. Its just been one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. Randi kaye it was a few months after the London Olympics when Oscar Pistorius met Reeva Steenkamp. Reporter Reeva Steenkamp, a model and Law School Graduate who recently appeared on the cover of the mens magazine fhm. Youre putting me on the spot. Randi kaye i mean, she was this beautiful up and coming model. She had this great compassion for social issues. And they were just a striking couple. Hi. Im oscars date tonight. He needed a date at the last minute. So its like, reeva, just throw your stuff together, and come and be my date. Mandy wiener their friends and their circle knew that the relationship had developed very, very quickly. Randi kaye after oscar and reeva had their first date, there was this huge sunday spread about them in south africa. And people were really just enamored with the idea of their relationship. Oscars agent asked him about reeva. Are you serious about this girl . And his reaction was, yes, i am. I am very serious about this girl. He made it very clear that they were very much in love. Reporter her last tweet on the 13th Of February said, what do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow . In a valentines card to Oscar Pistorius, reeva wrote, i think today is a good day to tell you that i love you. Randi kaye oscar described the night of february 13 as really just a very normal night for the two of them. Reeva steenkamp arrived at Oscar Pistoriuss home, and you see her on camera arriving. And she has a great big smile on her face. [soft music] they had had dinner. They went to bed around 10 oclock. Oscar was on his phone. At some point, reeva went on the floor and was doing yoga. Michael sokolove according to oscar, their relationship was in a very good place. It was deepening. They were in love. They had just had a great evening. And then they go to sleep. [foreboding music] randi kaye a few hours later, Oscar Pistorius hears this frightening noise. [bang] early in the morning of february the 14th, the neighbors woke up to, bahbahbah, bahbah. [tense music] randi kaye the first people who arrived found a really gruesome scene. Robyn curnow they saw a man carrying a woman down the stairs, and he was hysterical. He laid her body at the bottom of the stairs on the tiles. John carlin he was bathed in blood and shrieking and howling and crying. Oscar pistorius tried to save her. Others there tried to save her. But there was nothing that they could do for her. We begin this hour with Breaking News from south africa. Randi kaye people all over the world woke up to this tragic news. Nobody could believe it. Michael sokolove so unexpected. They shoot this beautiful, promising young woman and kill her. Its awful. Reporter the shooting took place behind the walls of this gated community. Oscar pistorius, a double amputee, invited cnn into the house a few years ago and showed us his prosthetic legs. But it was somewhere in this house that pistorius allegedly fired a pistol. Robyn curnow there was early rumblings that Oscar Pistorius thought she was an intruder. Michael sokolove it wasnt like the first time that he had mistakenly thought there was an intruder in his house. Oscar had a gun under his bed and seemingly quite frequently was always hearing noises in his house and thinking that he had to go look around with his gun. I thought it was obsessive how unsafe he felt in his home. But he was not the only person in south africa or extended johannesburg that would have felt that way. Robyn curnow it is a rational, real fear that you can be attacked in your home in the middle of the night. Randi kaye early on, there were reports that maybe this just was a tragedy, just an innocent accident. Barry bateman but the police came out and totally destroyed that version. As far as they were concerned, they were investigating a murder. There has previously been incidents at the home of mr. Oscar pistorius of allegations of domestic nature. Mandy wiener hang on a second. Could he have intentionally killed her . Robyn curnow was oscar a woman beater . And now he had killed his girlfriend . Randi kaye all of a sudden, the coverage flipped from accident to homicide. Reporter Oscar Pistorius, as of now, is at a police station. We started to hear reports about performanceenhancing drugs or steroids being found. And then that just started all kinds of rumors. People started to believe that this possibly was some sort of steroidinduced homicide. Robyn curnow almost immediately, oscars brand, his image crumbled. Scott roder he went from this handsome, tall, olympian, gold medalwinning icon to a pariah. Ill never forget that Oscar Pistorius was on this billboard. It was advertising an oscar campaign, said, every night is oscar night. Within a few hours of the story breaking, they started rolling down the billboard. Robyn curnow hed been the face of nike. And the tagline had been, i am the bullet in the chamber. That came down pretty quickly. Reporter this is a man who is usually basking in the glory of his achievements. Today, he was hiding his face from the world. Randi kaye there was a Great SadnessAround The World and a Great Sadness certainly within south africa. Reporter of course, now facing a possible jail term for murder. Just please let us make let us let us robyn curnow i had very sharp elbows that day. And i literally physically got myself into the courtroom. It was a zoo. Randi kaye he not only had to make his way through a gauntlet of media, but then he had to answer to the charges against him for the first time. Michael sokolove the oscar in court was not the oscar that anyone had ever seen. Mandy wiener he looked hollow and just totally broken by what he had experienced. Reporter the worldrenowned olympian Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend. Randi kaye the state believed that this was premeditated murder. One of the leading witnesses for the state said that they had found what they described as a suspicious substance next to the bed. Kelly phelps that they had found an illegal substance with needles. And clearly, the suggestion there was that he was in some sort of testosteronefueled rage. [tense music] robyn curnow the main investigating officer testified that the neighbors had heard terrible screams before the gunshots. The state believed that that meant that Oscar Pistorius would have known that Reeva Steenkamp was there, possibly hiding in that bathroom cubicle, and that there was some type of heated argument going on just before the shooting occurred. They said that oscar had picked up his gun. He had walked about seven meters to a bathroom, where his girlfriend was locked inside. And he had shot four bullets through there as she was hit three times. Oscar denied the charges that this was murder of any kind. Kelly phelps the defense provided an extremely thorough affidavit from mr. Pistorius explaining his version of what happened that night. Randi kaye Oscar Pistorius said in the Early Morning hours, he had opened the Balcony Doors to bring the fans in. He believed reeva was in bed. Michael sokolove and this is when he hears the noise, as he tells it, that he believes is an intruder. Scott roder he felt his life and reevas life were in danger. Randi kaye so he quickly grabbed his 9 millimeter handgun, he said, which was next to the bed, and moved through the dark. Robyn curnow and he walked on his stumps yelling, get the eff out of my house. Get the eff out of my house, yelling. Actor as oscar get out of my [bleep] house get out he ascertains that someones behind the Bathroom Door, which is locked [creaking] and fires four shots through the door. [gunshots] robyn curnow he said that he went back into the bedroom and realized reeva was not in bed and had a sinking feeling that she might be in the toilet. Michael sokolove he puts on his prosthetic legs. He fetches his cricket bat. Scott roder he runs back into the bathroom and starts beating the Bathroom Door with the cricket bat until hes able to open the door. And he sees reeva bleeding on the ground by the side of the toilet. Reporter pistorius was sobbing through the entire bail hearing. His side, though, the Defense Attorney said that the shooting was not premeditated. He said that pistorius shot his girlfriend believing that she was a burglar. Reporter still, so many unanswered questions, such as, how did reeva enter the bathroom unnoticed . What people didnt believe is that you claim that youre defending not only yourself but the woman that you love from this intruder, but you dont confirm where she is. She was lying next to you in the bed. How can you not know that shes no longer there . Would you not check where she is before you go and fetch a firearm and go and use it . Why had she locked the door . Did she think there was an intruder in there, or was she trying to protect herself from Oscar Pistorius . The world was divided over this story, and there were people who really believed him, really wanted to believe him. And other people thought they did have a fight, and he had this dark, angry side and had a temper. But the point of these early Court Proceedings was to decide if Oscar Pistorius could get out on bail. Of course, we are all talking about it. Oscar pistorius out of jail. The olympic track star granted bail today in pretoria. [soft music] i know my brother, and i know his fears. There has been a consistent theme in his life being safe that has always been a concern because of the practical vulnerabilities that he has. John carlin Oscar Pistorius was born in 1986. It was discovered that he had this congenital deformity of his feet. And his two legs were amputated just below the knee. Robyn curnow he was very brave in terms of breaking physical boundaries. I grew up in a family where disability was never an issue, not because it was a topic that was taboo, but it was just never an issue. [light music] john carlin and he becomes a superstar in the world of paralympics. And hes goodlooking. Hes got a certain greek god kind of demeanor. I think he saw himself as superhuman. And, you know, look, it was well earned. I mean, he achieved these things on the track that no one could believe he achieved. And that must be a really, really powerful thing to feel when you are born or have the disability that he had. Behind that public persona, oscar did have a very real physical limitation. Robyn curnow because off his prosthetics, he is a fundamentally disabled man who can barely walk. He almost looked scared because he was vulnerable. Michael sokolove i did sense paranoia. You know, for someone who saw himself as so physically accomplished, he was also afraid. Robyn curnow this is not the person that he wanted to share with the world. He hid that vulnerability. But in the end, that is who he was. Hmm. Id probably go for the rugged guy. I dont like a man who takes longer than me in the bathroom to get ready. No. [gentle music] they phoned me at 6 00 am, and they said, do you have a daughter reeva . Said, shes passed away. It was the worst day of my life. I was hysterical. I just wanted to die myself, honestly. I i didnt want to live without her. Everybody i spoke to about reeva loved her, across the board. Im at the lady gaga concert. I wasnt going to come, and then i got roped in two days ago. So i had to kind of, like, throw something together. June steenkamp she was such a blessing, a gift from god. Very clever and always laughing, always laughing. Randi kaye she came from a really closeknit family. Her father was a horse trainer. Her mother ran a restaurant at the track. They spent a lot of time together. Charleen hoffman she really cared about her parents and absolutely loved them. Kim martin when you were with her, you were like you felt like you were a teenager because she was just so vibrant, so full of life, so bouncy. She was just always laughing, joking, fun. [shouts] yeah, its crazy out here. She could get on with anyone. She was 14 when she started modeling. She wasnt very tall. She didnt have her blonde hair. But she loved it. Mark west i met Reeva Steenkamp because she had entered a Talent Search competition that i was the official photographer for. She was a very special person right from the start. And her smile just lit up the room. I dont know how to explain it. Some people have just got that x factor, and she was one of those. Randi kaye she was stunning. But she had some smarts, too. She went on to get her law degree as well. She had a real passion when it came to the issue of domestic abuse, domestic violence. She really wanted to elevate that. June steenkamp she wanted to be a public figure, and then she would be able to help people. Mark west she transformed herself to an absolute stunning blonde. Charleen hoffman reeva was one of the superstars. Super kind and wasnt fake. Wasnt fake. There was no divaness about it. Hi, my name is reeva, and im a contestant on tropika island of treasure 5, which we just shot in jamaica. Randi kaye reeva had filmed a reality show called tropika island of treasure. Reeva steenkamp we were in jamaica this year. Be jealous. You can be jealous. [laughs] she loved it. She was really starting to take off as a celebrity. Reeva steenkamp its a really, really fun production. And its in its Fourth Season now. And yeah, watch this space. Mike steenkamp it was such a devastating shock that her whole life of what she could achieve never came to fulfillment. [engine roars] randi kaye Reeva Met Oscar at the race track in 2012. Immediately, she was swept up into this adrenalinefilled lifestyle of his. Oscar lived fast. Oscar lived recklessly. Oscar saw himself as an action hero and played that part. Barry bateman in the wake of the shooting, people started looking into Oscar Pistorius a little bit deeper. [growls] Michael Sokolove he kept african tigers that he would pet like it was a cat. He drove dirt bikes at excessive speed, almost killed himself crashing a boat, and then his driving of his own personal cars, which were like indy cars, at 155 miles an hour. Thats a mark of somebody whos not completely healthy in some way. There was clearly seeds of some trouble. They were demons that were driving this young man, Oscar Pistorius. Reporter there was an Assault Charge against him. Debora patta the incident in 2009 involved a former girlfriend and another woman in which a door was kicked down at a party. Hed been accused of violence. Hed laid a counter charge. And eventually, the whole thing was dropped. John carlin and of course, people made quite a lot of his fascination with guns. Reporter pistorius was armed nearly everywhere he went. Randi kaye he had misused guns at times. And the prosecutors really pounced on that. And in fact, they added charges before the trial. Debora patta this new indictment includes two extra charges relating to allegations that pistorius discharged a pistol in a restaurant and out of the sunroof of his car. Barry bateman a picture started to emerge as somebody with violent tendencies. At the very least, Oscar Pistorius displayed a significant amount of aggression and that there were not people around him who were sort of grounding him and pulling him back to earth as it got closer and closer to trial, there was information coming out that he had been hanging around with the wrong crowd. Mandy wiener some of the people that he was hanging out with had pretty much bad boy reputations. Robyn curnow there were one or two who were directly involved in assassinations. I think that raised a lot of eyebrows. [suspenseful music] my role was a consultant to the legal team, do a crime scene reconstruction re