Reeva Steenkamp’s mother told reporters ‘I don’t believe his story’ as she prepared to oppose an early release bid made by her daughter’s killer, Oscar Pistorius.
Former Olympic and Paralympic athlete Pistorius will discover his fate today, after serving six years in jail and a decade after he murdered his girlfriend, 29-year-old model Ms Steenkamp.
Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp dead in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his Pretoria house, in a killing that shocked the world.
He was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017, which prosecutors described as ‘shockingly lenient’, after a lengthy trial in which he maintained that he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder.
He is now eligible for parole, and the board is likely to make a decision today after hearing representations at Atteridgeville prison on the outskirts of Pretoria, where the 36-year-old is being held.
Oscar Pistorius will find out today whether he will be released from prison early, a decade after he killed his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp
The high profile case gripped the world as the South African athlete (left) was a celebrated Olympian and Paralympian, while Ms Steenkamp (right) was a successful model and TV star
The Steenkamp family’s lawyer, Tania Koen, said: ‘It’s painful June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of their daughter, for them, it’s a life sentence.’
‘We have been advised that there will be a decision later today,’ Tania Koen, a lawyer representing the family of Ms Steenkamp said outside the correctional facility as the parole hearing was taking place.
Ms Steenkamp’s mother, June, arrived shortly before 10.00am (9.00 GMT) to make oral and written statements on behalf of herself and her husband, Barry, expressing their belief that Pistorius has not been rehabilitated and should not be released.
Speaking to reporters outside, June, who is from Blackburn, Lancashire, said she was ‘very stressed’ and that ‘[I] don’t believe his story’.
She added she was ‘very nervous’ and that it was ‘very hard to be in the same room’ as her daughter’s killer.
Ms Koen said it will be particularly tough for the heartbroken mother, as she has not confronted her daughter’s killer since 2016.
‘It’s a very traumatic experience, as you can imagine… It’s painful June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of their daughter, for them, it’s a life sentence.’
‘For them, it’s 10 missed birthdays, 10 Mother’s Days, 10 Father’s Days, 10 Christmases.’
Ms Steenkamp’s parents have no power to block it as criminals are automatically eligible for parole after serving half of their sentence.
‘They don’t feel that he should be released, they feel he has shown no remorse and he’s not rehabilitated, because if he had been he would have come clean and told the true story of what happened that night.’
‘They believe he intended to kill Reeva… unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he has rehabilitated.’
June Steenkamp, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp arrives at the Atteridgeville Prison for the parole hearing of Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius could now leave Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria as early as today if his parole is granted
Speaking to reporters outside, June said she was ‘very nervous’ and that it was ‘very hard to be in the same room’ as her beloved daughter’s killer
‘They have no expectations,’ Koen previously said of the Steenkamps ahead of the hearing. ‘The law must take its course’.
Pistorius had pleaded not guilty and denied that he killed Ms Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar – a version of events her family sees as untrue.
Comprising of at least three people, including prison services and community members, the board is to determine whether the purpose of imprisonment has been served, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
Offenders in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half of their sentence.
When asked whether Barry got the sense that Oscar had any remorse, Ms Koen said: ‘No, that’s why we’re here today’
Prison staff at the entrance to the Atteridgeville Prison where Oscar Pistorius is being held
Pistorius has served more than half, having started his term in 2014 before it was extended in 2017.
Sources say Pistorius has been affected by his time in custody, and is now a shadow of his former self.
He could now leave Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria as early as today if his parole is granted.
In June last year Pistorius agreed to meet the Steenkamps in prison, as part of South Africa’s victim-offender dialogue programme
Pistorius met Barry Steenkamp (left) last year. But Ms Steenkamp’s father came away from the meeting dissatisfied and ’emotional’. He did not travel to Pretoria today due to poor health
Barry Steenkamp is consoled by his wife June during the sentencing hearing of Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in October 2014
The independent parole board must determine, among other issues, whether Pistorius is at risk of committing similar crimes in the future, prison spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.
It will also consider his disciplinary record, training programmes in prison and his physical and mental state, prison officials said.
Of all the factors, legal experts consider the behavior of Pistorius while in prison as likely to be the most important consideration.
His lawyer, Julian Knight, has previously said Pistorius has been a ‘model prisoner.’
Mr Knight said he would not comment until after a decision on the parole is made today.
Pistorius met Barry Steenkamp in June last year, in a process authorities said aims to ensure inmates ‘acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large’.
But Ms Steenkamp’s father came away from the meeting dissatisfied and ’emotional’, his lawyer said.
‘It was traumatic for both Mr Pistorius and Barry, it was painful, really painful,’ said Ms Koen today.
When asked whether Barry got the sense that Oscar had any remorse, Ms Koen said: ‘No, that’s why we’re here today’.
Barry did not travel to Pretoria from his home in Port Elizabeth today because of poor health.
His wife said the almost 80-year-old ‘is not well’ and that he ‘can’t walk anymore’.
The board will consider whether Pistorius has been rehabilitated or still poses a danger to society, as well as his conduct in prison, according to the correctional services.
The hearing will be closed to the media.
The case was particularly high profile as the famous South African athlete had just a year earlier been the first double amputee to compete in an able-bodied Olympics, while Ms Steenkamp was a successful model and TV star.
The South African athlete, nicknamed Blade Runner after his racing prosthetics, had been a widely-celebrated Paralympian prior to the killing
Ms Steenkamp was a successful model and TV star. She modeled for the jewelry company Sivana Diamonds and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa
After taking part in London 2012, Pistorius was then was a sporting icon. who was courted by sponsors and admired worldwide for overcoming the difficulties associated with his disability.
But it all came crashing down after the killing, with the world bearing witness to his downfall as his trial was televised.
Following sentencing, he was sent to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africa’s most notorious.
Former Olympic and Paralympic athlete Pistorius shot dead Ms Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013
The killer, who uses prosthetics after his lower legs were amputated as a baby, was moved to the Atteridgeville prison in 2016, a facility which is better suited to disabled prisoners.
Parole decisions are usually known the same day of the hearing or a day later, but the correctional services department previously suggested that in Pistorius’s case the decision may not be taken on the same day.
If denied, the board is likely to ask Pistorius to reapply for parole at a later stage.
Timeline of events in the Oscar Pistorius murder case
February 14, 2013: Police arrest the Olympic and Paralympic sprinter for killing Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, who was shot four times at his Pretoria home.
February 15: Pistorius bursts into tears as he is charged, denying murder ‘in the strongest terms’.
February 19: Pistorius claims in an affidavit he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. He said he fired through a locked bathroom door, in what prosecutors term ‘premeditated’ murder.
February 21: Global sportswear manufacturer Nike suspends its sponsorship contract with the athlete.
February 22: Pistorius is granted bail.
On Valentine’s Day, Pistorius fired four shots through the door of a locked bathroom at his home in Pretoria. Reeva was on the other side
The trial begins
March 3, 2014: The trial opens in Pretoria before crowds of journalists from around the world, with the testimony of a neighbour who tells the court she heard ‘terrible screams’ from a woman. Ten days later, Pistorius vomits when a picture of Steenkamp’s body is flashed on the court’s television screens.
April 7-15: Pistorius takes the stand and begins with a tearful apology to Steenkamp’s family. This is followed by five days of often intense cross-examination, marked by bouts of tears and breaks in the session. Pistorius steadfastly denies any intention to kill Steenkamp.
June 30: After a six-week break, a panel of three psychiatrists and a psychologist conclude Pistorius does not suffer from mental illness.
September 12: Judge Thokozile Masipa finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter.
October 21: The judge sentences him to a maximum of five years in jail. He is taken to Pretoria prison.
Under house arrest
October 20, 2015: Pistorius is allowed out of prison after just one year to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
December 3: The Supreme Court of Appeal convicts him of murder, saying his testimony was ‘vacillating and untruthful’.
December 8: Pistorius is released on bail pending sentencing, and remains under house arrest.
Pistorius was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial
‘Shockingly lenient’ sentence
March 2, 2016: Pistorius, now 29, loses his final bid to appeal his murder conviction.
July 6: He is sentenced to six years in jail for murder.
August 14: South African media reports say Pistorius is put on 24-hour suicide watch.
September 15: Prosecutors say they will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for a tougher sentence for Pistorius, having described the six-year term as ‘shockingly lenient’.
November 14: Prison authorities say Pistorius has been transferred to a prison adapted for disabled inmates just outside Pretoria to serve the rest of his sentence.
Oscar Pistorius holds his head in his hands during the hearing of his murder trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on March 13, 2014
Jail term extended
November 3, 2017: The appeal court adjourns to consider its ruling after prosecutors argue that Pistorius’s jail term is too short, while defence lawyers say the judge handed down a fair sentence.
November 24: The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein more than doubles Pistorius’s sentence of six years to 13 years and five months.
Parole process
March 28, 2018: South Africa’s highest court rejects Pistorius’s leave to appeal, ending the long legal battle over the killing.
November 29, 2021: Prison services say Pistorius has been temporarily moved to a detention facility in the southern city of Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, as part of his parole process, having become eligible for early release a few months earlier, after serving half his sentence.
July 1, 2022: Prison services say Pistorius has met with Steenkamp’s parents as part of his rehabilitation process.
March 31, 2023: A parole board is called to decide on whether the 36-year-old former athlete should be released early.
