She studied German in school, and graduated with a BA, majoring in psychology and languages at the University of Pretoria.
[1] After graduating with a BA, Pistorius began working in public relations, which included writing press releases, before moving into journalism.
[1] After moving to Cape Town, she wrote for a women's magazine before being appointed to a managerial position in publications at the World Wide Fund for Nature in Stellenbosch.
[1] Pistorius then applied for and was accepted into the psychology honours and master's programmes at the University of Pretoria, acquiring both degrees cum laude.
[13] In 2000, she resigned from the police with the rank equivalent to senior superintendent,[9] and joined a private investigation company.
[1] Pistorius then joined the TV production company Zyron (owned by actress Sandra Prinsloo and producer Jan Groenewalt), and wrote scripts and co-presented two crime documentary series.
She also featured in a number of local and international crime documentaries, including by the SABC, M-Net, KykNET, BBC, and others.
[1] An 11-part true crime television series,[19] called Catch Me a Killer and based on her autobiography of the same name, was released by Showmax in early 2024.
The series was co-produced by the German production company Night Train Media, along with CMak (UK) and M-Net (SA).
[9] Pistorius opened a private practice as psychologist and consultant and wrote a few in-house pieces before making another turn in her career.
[1] Also in 2010, she gave expert advice as a clinical psychologist in a court case involving a woman who had committed sexual abuse on children under the influence of her controlling lover.
[7] As of February 2024[update], Pistorius lives on the island of Mauritius,[21] where she practises general and neuropsychology, occasionally consults for the legal profession as a forensic psychologist, and presents courses to companies on coaching managers and executives about emotional intelligence for managers, workplace security, and emotional safety at work.