Investigation Discovery And NBC News' Peacock Productions Partner For A Revealing Expose Behind The Oscar Pistorius Scandal

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the pending murder trial of South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, Investigation Discovery (ID) and NBC News' Peacock Productions partner to produce a one-hour special about his connection to the shooting death of his girlfriend, South African model Reeva Steenkamp. Featuring exclusive interviews with members of both Pistorius' and Steenkamp's inner circles as well as key players in the pending trial, the special examines their relationship and what circumstantial evidence may have contributed to Steenkamp's Valentine's Day murder. BEAUTY & THE BLADE RUNNER premieres exclusively on ID on Sunday, March 3 at 8 PM (E/P), taking viewers inside the amputee athlete's South African home to demonstrate how events unfolded at the time of Steenkamp's death.

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As longstanding production partners on some of ID's top series, including DISAPPEARED and TRUE CRIME WITH APHRODITE JONES, this presentation marks the first production in a new partnership between ID and Peacock Productions, the production arm of NBC News. Enriching the network's lineup of signature true-crime series and specials, ID has partnered with Peacock Production to produce long-form, breaking news instamentaries with in-depth analysis behind some of the day's top news stories.

"With the benefit of NBC News' Peacock Productions' established experience, enormous resources and journalistic integrity, we felt we had the perfect partner to explore aspects of this horrible tragedy not widely known to the American public," said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery.  "Mark this shocking story as 'Exhibit 1' in our expanded partnership to cover other compelling investigations and criminal cases, as they are unfolding."

"This type of quick turnaround plays to our strengths and we're thrilled to expand our partnership with Henry Schleiff and his amazing team over at Investigation Discovery," said Sharon Scott, EVP and GM, Peacock Productions. 

Utilizing resources of the NBC News team with boots already on the ground in South Africa, BEAUTY & THE BLADE RUNNER features interviews with key players in the pending trial, including the spokesperson for The National Prosecuting Authority, Medupe Simasiku, and Mary Carillo who interviewed Pistorius last Spring for "Rock Center with Brian Williams." Friends and family of both Pistorius and Steenkamp come forward to paint a picture of the couple's life together, including Pistorius' friend Terri Lee Mey, as well as Steenkamp's publicist, Simphiwe Majola.

BEAUTY & THE BLADE RUNNER premieres on Sunday, March 3 at 8 PM (E/P). The special is produced for Investigation Discovery by NBC News' Peacock Productions, with executive producer Liz Fischer.  For Investigation Discovery, Pamela Deutsch is executive producer and Keila Woodard is producer. Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

About NBC News' Peacock Productions
Peacock Productions is an award-winning, nonfiction production company that combines the editorial expertise, technical resources and seasoned production talent of NBCUniversal. It offers a wide-range of programming to broadcast, cable and digital entities with worldwide reach. To learn more, please visit peacockproductions.tv.

About Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (ID) is America's leading mystery-and-suspense network. From harrowing crimes and salacious scandals to the in-depth investigations and heart-breaking mysteries that result, ID challenges our everyday understanding of culture, society and the human condition. ID delivers the highest-quality programming to nearly 82 million U.S. households with viewer favorites that include On the Case with Paula Zahn; Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda; Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?; Disappeared; Stalked: Someone's Watching; and Redrum. For more information, please visit InvestigationDiscovery.com, facebook.com/InvestigationDiscovery, or twitter.com/DiscoveryID. Investigation Discovery is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories.

Please visit the Press Website at http://press.discovery.com/us/id/ for additional press materials, screeners, and photography.

SOURCE Investigation Discovery