The trial of Oscar Pistorius captivated South Africans and many people around the world who admired the athlete as a symbol of triumph over physical adversity.
With its glamorous victim, tears and tragedy, and Pistorius's fall from grace, it has been endlessly discussed.
It also highlighted South Africa's endemic violence - in domestic situations in which women suffer abuse from their partners, and also in its high crime rate.
The claim that Pistorius feared his home had been invaded struck a chord with some South Africans.
Today Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after one of the most sensational murder trials in South Africa's history.
The Olympic and Paralympic runner was convicted of culpable homicide last month for shooting dead Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, at his home in Pretoria in February 2013.
Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder, saying prosecutors had failed to prove his intent to kill when he fired four 9mm rounds through the door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief an intruder was lurking behind it.
Pistorius was also given a three-year sentence on a firearms charge, which was suspended for five years.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel had argued at the sentencing hearing last week that only ten years' imprisonment would satisfy the South African public.
They would lose their faith in the justice system if Pistorius avoided jail, Mr Nel said.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said, however, that the double-amputee sprinter should be given community service because his sorrow and regret at killing the woman he loved was the worst punishment of all.
He also said Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, would face particular difficulties in prison.
Here is a snapshot of the events that began on Valentine's Day last year:
14 February 2013: South African police arrest Pistorius, a Paralympic and Olympic sprinter nicknamed the 'Blade Runner', for the murder of Ms Steenkamp, shot four times with one of his guns at his house near Pretoria.
15 February: Pistorius breaks into tears as he is charged, denying the murder "in the strongest terms".
19 February: Pistorius claims in an affidavit that he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and was "filled with horrible fear" that someone had sneaked into his home through an open window.
He insists he did not intend to kill Ms Steenkamp, but is accused of firing through a locked bathroom door in what prosecutors term a "premeditated" murder.
20 February: Witnesses testify they heard arguing, a woman screaming and gunfire at Pistorius's house the night of the slaying, police tell the court.
The French cosmetics firm Clarins drops an advertising campaign featuring Pistorius.
21 February: US sportswear giant Nike suspends its contract with Pistorius.
South African police name a top detective to the case after it emerges that the officer initially assigned to it faces attempted murder charges.
22 February: Pistorius is granted bail by a magistrate. It is set at one million rand (€75,000) after the sprinter spent more than a week in custody and sat through a tense four-day bail hearing.
28 March: A court clears Pistorius for international travel, easing his strict bail terms.
14 April: Pistorius is seen partying at a trendy Johannesburg hangout, media report.
20 May: Pistorius will not race this season, his agent says.
28 June: Pistorius is to resume limited training for his mental well-being, but does not plan a return to competition, his family announces.
13 August: A magistrate orders Pistorius to stand trial in March.
2014
23 January: Pistorius' lawyers and Ms Steenkamp's family are discussing an out-of-court financial settlement, a lawyer says.
25 February: A judge rules that most of Pistorius's trial can be broadcast live, but not his own testimony.
3 March: The trial, which would last six months, opens in Pretoria, before an army of journalists from around the world.
12 September: Pistorius is found guilty of the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp.
21 October: Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison.
