Oscar Pistorius and the Valentine's killing of Reeva Steenkamp. What happened that night?

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Here's what to know about the night South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.

Pistorius, a world-famous double-amputee sprinter who competed on carbon-fiber blades at the 2012 London Olympics, was released on parole Friday having served nearly nine years in prison for murder.

He has always maintained he shot Steenkamp in a tragic mistake in the predawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013, thinking she was a dangerous intruder in his home in the South African capital, Pretoria. Prosecutors said he killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and reality TV star, intentionally during a late-night argument and then made up the intruder story.

A judge initially accepted Pistorius' story but South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lesser manslaughter conviction against him after an appeal by prosecutors and found him guilty of murder.

Pistorius did not deny that he shot four times through a locked toilet cubicle door in his home with his licensed 9 mm pistol, hitting Steenkamp in the head, arm and hip. But the reason for Pistorius opening fire formed the central part of his dramatic 2014 murder trial, which lasted seven months and was broadcast live across the world.

He testified that he heard a noise in the bathroom in the middle of the night and believed there was an intruder in his home. He said he grabbed his gun from under the bed where he had been sleeping next to Steenkamp and went to the bathroom.

When he heard a noise from the cubicle, he fired through the door in what he said he thought was self-defense. Steenkamp was hit on the other side of the door.

Pistorius' story was attacked by prosecutors, who asked how he did not first check on where Steenkamp was if he was so concerned about a dangerous intruder. They said he even had to walk past Steenkamp's side of the bed to get to the bathroom.

Pistorius said he had woken up and had gone out onto a balcony to retrieve a fan when he heard the noise from the bathroom and was scared and panicked. He said he rushed to get his gun and presumed Steenkamp was still in bed.

Once he saw Steenkamp was not in bed after the shooting, he realized she might be the person in the toilet, he testified. Pistorius said he had to break down the locked toilet door with a cricket bat in a vain effort to save her.

Prosecutors alleged at the start of the trial that Pistorius had taken the time to put on his prosthetic legs before shooting Steenkamp. They said it showed premeditation and he wouldn't have done that if he was reacting suddenly to what he thought was a dangerous intruder.

Pistorius' defense lawyers showed the angle of bullet holes in the toilet door — which was brought into court as an exhibit — proved he fired the shots while standing on his stumps and prosecutors later conceded Pistorius did fire the deadly shots while he did not have his prosthetic legs on. Pistorius' lawyers even had him walk around the courtroom without his prosthetic legs, hoping to show he was unstable and vulnerable without them and how it might explain his panicked reaction to a possible threat in his home.

The basis of the prosecution's case was that the couple, who had only been dating for a few months, had a late-night argument and Steenkamp fled to the bathroom in fear of an angry Pistorius. Neighbors testified that they heard shouting and screams coming from Pistorius' villa around 3 a.m. before loud bangs. Prosecutors said it showed the couple were arguing before the gunshots.

Pistorius' lawyers said the screams came from him after he realized what he had done, and the bangs were him hitting the door with the cricket bat to get to Steenkamp. The manager of the gated community where Pistorius lived and his daughter were the first people on the scene after the shooting. The manager testified Pistorius was crying, screaming and praying while carrying Steenkamp's bloodied body down the stairs when they arrived.

The Supreme Court of Appeal ultimately convicted Pistorius of murder under a specific South African legal principle because he acted with such recklessness when he shot through the door and should have known someone would have been killed without justification. It is comparable to a third-degree murder conviction and Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison.

But the final verdict did not definitively say if Pistorius knew he was shooting specifically at Steenkamp and intended to kill her and that question — the very heart of the case — may never be fully answered.

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More AP coverage of Oscar Pistorius: https://apnews.com/hub/oscar-pistorius

FILE — Oscar Pistorius, walks on his stumps during argument in mitigation of sentence by his defense attorney Barry Roux in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, June 15, 2016. An appeals court found Pistorius guilty of murder and not a lesser charge of culpable homicide for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool Photo via AP/File)

FILE - A mourner carries a program at the funeral for Reeva Steenkamp, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Feb. 19, 2013. OscarPistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)

FILE — Former football player Mark Batchelor speaks on his mobile phone, bearing a photo of the late Reeva Steenkamp, as he sits in court after Oscar Pistorius' sentencing in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, Pool, File)

FILE — June Steenkamp, the mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius in 2013, speaks at the launch of her book, 'Reeva, A Mothers Story.' in Johannesburg Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Shiraaz Mohamed, File)

FILE - A frame grab from video taken by VNS24/7 shows the home of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in a gated housing complex in Pretoria, where he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/VNS24/7-File)

FILE — The bullet-riddled toilet door through which Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Sttenkamp is exhibited in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday, April 14, 2014. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Antoine de Ras, Pool, File)

FILE - Two newspapers headline the news of Olympian Athlete Oscar Pistorius' applications for licensing of six firearms a few weeks before he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, on Wednesday Feb. 20, 2013. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of the sports superstar.(AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)

FILE — Forensic expert Johannes Vermeulen, right, is questioned by state prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, left, as he gives evidence in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, March 13, 2014, showing court exhibit of toilet door, in the Oscar Pistorius murder case. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Alet Pretorius, Pool, File)

FILE - Oscar Pistorius weeps as he listens to evidence by a pathologist in court in Pretoria, South Africa April 7 2014. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, Pool, File)

FILE — State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, alongside a reconstruction of a toilet cubicle, in court Monday, April 14, 2014, through which Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on St. Valentine's day in 2013. Pistorius shot Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Antoine de Ras, Pool, File)

FILE - Workers take down a billboard of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius endorsing a product, bottom left, after Pistorius was taken into custody after Reeva Steenkamp, was shot dead at his home. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo/Dion Chang-File)

FILE - Oscar Pistorius, centre, accompanied by his brother Carl, right, is led from the Boschkop police station east of Pretoria, en route to court, for his bail hearing in the murder case of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo, File)

FILE - Oscar Pistorius listens Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014 in the high court for the fourth day of sentencing in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Alon Skuy, Pool, File)

FILE — Oscar Pistorius holds his head in his hands as he listens to evidence being given in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 after questioning by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, had earlier finished. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo/Alon Skuy, Pool, File)

FILE — The uncle of Oscar Pistorius, Arnold Pistorius, right, comforts his niece after making a statement to selected press in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 16, 2013. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)

FILE — People pprotest against Oscar Pistorius outside the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014 during the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar.(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE — Oscar Pistorius, in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, June 15, 2016 during his murder trail.Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (AP Photo/Alon Skuy, Pool via AP, File)

FILE - Oscar Pistorius wipes his face as he appears in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa on the second day of his sentencing hearing for murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp June 14, 2016. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (Kim Ludbrook/ Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE — Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, July 6, 2016 after a judge passed a new sentence of six years imprisonment after his conviction was changed to murder for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp more than a decade ago in a Valentine's Day, killing that jolted the world and shattered the image of a sports superstar. (Marco Longari, Pool Photo via AP/File)

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