OPINION: Laurel Irving has been on assignment covering the Oscar Pistorius trial. Here, she shares her experience of covering a case which has transfixed the world.
"In an outdated, airless room with bad acoustics and hard wooden benches, the most dramatic court case in a generation has been unfolding in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Oscar Pistorius trial was expected to be fascinating. The reality has been so much more. We've witnessed the unravelling of a hero.
He was the man who made South Africans proud of their country. A boy born without lower legs, who refused to be told he couldn't be normal.
He became the Blade Runner - his greatest achievement running in the 2012 London Olympics, against able-bodied athletes.
But within six months, he'd shot dead his stunning model girlfriend and his life had fallen apart. Seven weeks ago, Oscar Pistorius went on trial for Reeva Steenkamp's murder.
Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during his trial at North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. Photo: AP.
It's the first trial in South African history that's been broadcast live. Across televisions, radios, live streams, and social media, every utterance in court has been witnessed, and dissected, around the world.
Every day, dozens of reporters from every continent shuffle into the courtroom with armfuls of laptops and power boards. Creatures of habit, most sit in the same place every day, and via Twitter and live blogs, report to the world every sentence uttered, every emotion expressed, by the main players in the drama.
The most valuable real estate is behind the Pistorius family. Every day of the trial, the athlete's sister Aimee, brother Carl, his uncle, aunt and cousins fill the front benches on the left hand side of the court.
They joke and chat to the international media in breaks, sometimes offering insights to developments in the case, and occasionally, supplying photographs.
On the other side of the court sits Reeva Steenkamp's mother June, supported by close family, but not her sick husband, who remains in Cape Town. She's also often surrounded by members of the African National Congress, who wear small photographs of Reeva on their lapels.
When pictures are shown on the court's many large screens, June hangs her head. Several times early in the trial, graphic photos of her daughter's body were accidentally flashed up. Now, she won't look up until she's told by those around her that the photo is safe.
Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013. Photo: AP.
Her every move and facial expression is scrutinised and instantly reported. Sometimes, during especially dramatic moments, journalists sitting at the other end of the court stand up on tiptoes, just to see her reaction.
The drama of the trial can also be measured by the noise in the courtroom. Fiery exchanges, gripping revelations and the emotional reactions of the defendant all prompt furious clacking of computer keyboards. Some moments, though, are so shocking that all typing momentarily stops.
From the start of the trial, Oscar Pistorius's raw emotions have prompted as much discussion as the evidence. Few sitting inside the courtroom as the Paralympian vomits or sobs doubt the sincerity of his reactions.
Oscar Pistorius holds his hands to his face 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. Photo: AP.
Even the Prosecution now acknowledges he's deeply traumatised by the shooting - deliberate or not. But several days into a brutal, damaging cross examination, there was a moment when many held their breath.
Asked about why he didn't hear Reeva behind the toilet door (he says he thought she was an intruder), the athlete took a deep breath, and sat back in his chair. For 31 seconds, he did not answer. All movement gradually stopped. In the silence, some wondered if this was the moment he would confess.
Finally he responded in a choked voice, saying he wished she had said something, then he would not have shot her.
It's a reflection of the remarkable nature of the case that such a moment could arise. Neither side has definitive proof of their version of events. Judge Masipa will have to decide between the word of a former hero against that of a relentless, determined prosecutor.
Many, though, have already decided what happened that night. The trial is the number one topic of discussion in South Africa. On Twitter, only the death of Nelson Mandela had more mentions. Passionate debate erupts outside the High Court each day - often between school children - about the merits of the case. On social media, the debate is long and furious.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, questions Oscar Pistorius in court in Pretoria, South Africa. Photo: AP.
The trial has also made household names of the two main combatants - Pistorius' lawyer Barry Roux, and the Prosecutor known as The Bulldog - Gerrie Nel. People clamour for their autographs on Pretoria streets, and pass judgement on their court strategies.
The verdict is now not expected until June. For those outside the immediate Pistorius and Steenkamp circles, though, the official ruling is almost immaterial. The vast majority of people following the case around the world have already reached their own verdict.
And for the man once loved by so many, now revealed to have been living a shallow life of fast cars and guns, the fall is already complete."