Oscar Pistorius is getting out of jail. The South African sprinter who created headlines around the world when he was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, will be released from prison on Tuesday.
The former Olympian known as "Blade Runner," was supposed to serve a five-year sentence for the charge of manslaughter, but will be released after serving just 10 months behind bars – the minimum he could face under South African law.
The 28-year-old will not be completely free however. He will remain under "correctional supervision," otherwise known as house arrest, according to the South African prison service.
Meanwhile, the Steenkamp family told NBC News that they have "received a call from correctional services to confirm he will be released on October 20."
Tania Koen, who represents the Steenkamp family said:
"They don't feel any different, nothing has changed in their lives. Reeva is not coming back. It doesn't really matter to them what happens to Oscar Pistorius."
Pistorius was convicted in September 2014 for the Valentine's Day killing of his former model and graduate student girlfriend.
According to Pistorius, he was awoken in the middle of the night by a noise he believed to be an intruder. Fearing for his safety, and the safety of Steenkamp, Pistorius, armed with a handgun, fired four shots into the closed door of a bathroom.
It wasn't until he returned to the bedroom and saw that Steenkamp was not in bed, that he realized his tragic mistake, breaking the door open with a cricket bat to discover he had shot and killed Steenkamp.
Pistorius's attorneys applied for house arrest, and the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board approved his request granting his release on Oct. 20, 2015.
"The parole board considered all submissions, including the offender's profile report, the directives of the Parole Review Board and the submission of the victim's family."
It is unknown if Pistorius will continue his sprinting training once he is released from prison, or whether he is allowed to compete in track and field events while serving house arrest.
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