One Tragic Night

An authoritative account of the crimes of Oscar Pistorius, the beloved Paralympic superstar who shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in cold blood.

At 08:03 on the morning of Valentine's Day 2013, news broke that Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic superstar known as the “Blade Runner,” had shot and killed his girlfriend at his luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa. Within minutes, the story reverberated around the world as banners flashed across television screens broadcasting global news networks. At first glance, it appeared to be a heart-wrenching, tragic accident. The athlete had mistaken beautiful Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder. But as the morning unfolded, a second version of events began to reveal itself, indicating that the country's celebrated icon, its “Golden Boy,” may have murdered his model girlfriend in a fit of rage.

In this vivid and insightful narrative, South African journalists Mandy Wiener and Barry Bateman reveal the true story of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp, from that horrific night to the announcement of the shocking verdict. Drawing on evidence from the trial as well as on-the-ground interviews with family and friends of Oscar and Reeva, this is the authoritative account of one of the most high-profile trials of the twenty-first century.

“Definitive, engrossing, fascinating, brilliant, and utterly unputdownable. Wiener has no equal when it comes to true crime, and Bateman’s first-journalist-on-the-crime-scene insight gives it a huge boost.” —Deon Meyer, author of the Benny Griessel Mysteries