Oscar Pistorius case: Ten key moments

Paralympic champion and convicted killer Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison within days, authorities in South Africa have announced.

The runner was convicted of the culpable homicide of late girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in October last year, after shooting her through a bathroom door - claiming he feared she was an intruder.

Prosecutors have lodged an appeal calling for a re-trial on the murder charge, which means - if successful - his freedom could be short-lived.

Here's what you need to know about the high-profile case:

• February 14, 2013: Reeva Steenkamp killed

Pistorius and Reeva had gone to bed at around 10pm the night before, with two fans on in the bedroom - including one reportedly in the balcony doorway, as the air conditioning was not working.

According to Pistorius, he woke in the early hours as the room was humid, and Reeva asked him: "You can't sleep, Baba?"

He said he got up, without his prosthetic legs, and moved the fan from the balcony into the bedroom - and upon his return, he said, he heard a noise from the bathroom, which he believed was an intruder.

He got his gun from beside the bed and allegedly whispered to Reeva to call the police, before moving to the bathroom and firing four shots through the door.

Still aiming the gun at the door, he went back to the bedroom - and that, he said, is when he realised Reeva was not in bed after all.

The athlete says he then put his prosthetic legs on and grabbed a cricket bat, which he used to break down the bathroom door. He picked up Reeva from the floor and carried her downstairs, before calling a neighbour, an ambulance and the estate's security - in that order - between 3.19am and 3.21am.

A paramedic declared Reeva dead at the scene, and Pistorius was arrested.

• February 19: Bail hearing begins and Pistorius charged with premeditated murder

Pistorius' four-day bail hearing began, during which what would become his formal defence - that he thought his girlfriend had been an intruder - was first revealed in court.

More details of the night she died were also outlined.

On this day, Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that for the purposes of the bail hearing, Pistorius would be charged with a Section 6 criminal offence, which includes premeditated murder.

This requires the defence to prove exceptional circumstance for bail to be granted.

• February 22: Pistorius granted bail

As the bail hearing drew to a close, Magistrate Nair ruled that the prosecution had not succeeded in proving Pistorius was a flight risk or that he had a propensity for violence.

He granted the athlete bail, at a fixed price of 1 million South African rand (£49,506).

• February 14, 2014: Pistorius releases statement

To mark one year since the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius finally broke his silence on the incident and released a short statement.

It read:

• March 3: Murder trial gets underway

The trial opens at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, where Pistorius officially enters a not guilty plea to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day the previous year.

His neighbour Michelle Burger was the first witness called in the trial, and tells the court on the night Reeva died she was awoken by "a woman's terrible screams".

Ms Burger claimed she heard four shots with a "longer" gap between the first and second.

She described the screams as "blood curdling".

• April 7: Pistorius takes the stand

After days of hearings during which Pistorius cried and retched in the docks as graphic evidence was shown and heard, he took to the stand to tell his version of events.

He began with an apology directed towards Reeva's parents, saying: "I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Mrs and Mr Steenkamp."

He told the court he was "scared to sleep" as he was plagued by "terrible nightmares."

"I can smell blood," he said.

The hearing was adjourned early, as the judge agreed Pistorius looked "exhausted".

In the following days, he broke down repeatedly in the dock.

During cross-examination, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel accused Pistorius of not taking responsibility as he claimed he had "made a mistake".

The trial was adjourned for 30 days at the end of May for a psychiatric assessment of the athlete.

• August 8: Closing statements heard

The prosecution and defence both give their closing statements to the court, and the date for verdict is set as September 11.

In a rare message on Twitter, Pistorius thanks his friends and family who have supported him throughout the trial.

• September 11: Pistorius cleared of murder

On the first day of a two-day verdict hearing, Pistorius is cleared of both premeditated and second degree murder.

However, Judge Thokozile Masipa described the athlete's actions as "negligent".

She said she was "not persuaded" that a reasonable person with Pistorius' disabilities would have fired the shots which killed the law graduate and model.

The following day, Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide (equivalent to manslaughter in British law).

He returned to court in October, when he was sentenced to five years in prison, some of which could be served under 'correctional supervision' - or house arrest - after a minimum of 10 months behind bars.

For a separate firearms charge, upon which he was also found guilty, he was given a three-year suspended sentence.

• August 17, 2015: Prosecutors appeal over murder conviction

Prosecutors file an appeal asking for Pistorius to be tried again over the killing of Reeva Steenkamp - arguing he should have been found guilty of murder.

A murder conviction carries a minimum jail term of 15 years in the country.

The appeal claimed that Judge Thokozile Masipa misinterpreted parts of the law and ignored important evidence during the trial.

Their appeal hinged on part of South African law known as "dolus eventualis", in which someone can be found guilty of murder with lesser intent if they acted with the knowledge that a person might be killed because of their actions, but went ahead anyway.

The hearing is expected to take place next month.

• October 15: Prison release date announced

The South African parole board announced Pistorius would be released on October 20 - making it one day under a year he will have served over the shooting.

The board said he would serve 'correctional supervision' - a tactic introduced to try to ease chronic prison overcrowding in the country - for exactly four years from that date.

If the appeal by prosecutors next month is successful, he would most likely have to return to prison to serve the 15-year sentence.