Oscar Pistorius To Be Released 10 Years After Killing Reeva Steenkamp

South African former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will be released on parole on 5 January. He’ll leave prison almost eleven years after the 2013 killing of his partner, model and paralegal Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp, 29, at his home in Pretoria on the night of 14 February 2013. Pistorius had fired four shots against the bathroom door with three bullets fatally hitting Steenkamp, who was inside.

While Pistorius never denied shooting against the locked door, he has since maintained that he did not know Steenkamp was in the bathroom. He said that he’d shot in the belief he was dealing with an intruder, and was scared for his life. Prosecutors argued that Pistorius shot at the door in a rage after an argument, knowing full well that his partner was inside the bathroom.

At the time of the killing Pistorius was at the peak of his fame as an athlete, while Steenkamp was a successful model with hopes to become a qualified legal advocate by age 30. On Friday 13 February, in what would be her last message on social media, Steenkamp had retweeted an appeal to wear black “in support against rape and woman abuse”. On the same day, ahead of Valentine’s Day, she had written, “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?”

The Trial

Steenkamp’s death caused an uproar, with South African media closely following the subsequent trial. Pistorius was initially found guilty of ‘culpable homicide’, a charge quite similar to manslaughter. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014.

Prosecutors appealed the sentence and, in late 2015, he was found guilty of murder by the Supreme Court of Appeal. However, the custodial sentence was increased by just one year, from five to six year. South Africa’s Supreme Court intervened in 2017 by increasing the sentence to 13 years and five months. The court found the six-year sentence to be “shockingly lenient”.

Pistorius became eligible for parole after serving half his sentence, and his latest appeal for parole has been successful. He is set to be released on parole on 5 January 2024, weeks before the 11^th anniversary Steenkamp’s murder.

“Mr. Pistorius will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections and will be subjected to supervision in compliance with parole conditions until his sentence expires,” the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday.

Reeva Steenkamp’s father, Barry Steenkamp, passed away in September 2023. Her mother June was not present at the hearing. Instead, she gave a written victim impact statement for the parole board.

‘Screamed for her life’

She wrote, “I am not attending Oscar’s parole hearing as I simply cannot muster the energy to face him again. Barry’s death has opened the wounds in many ways caused by Reeva’s death. I had forgiven Oscar long ago, as I knew almost instantly I would not be able to survive if I had to cling to my anger.”

She added, “I do not believe Oscar’s version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar. I do not know anybody who does. My dearest child screamed for her life; loud enough for the neighbours to hear her. I do not know what gave rise to his choice to shoot through a closed door four times with hollow-point ammunition when, I believe, he knew it was Reeva. Messages sent to us by Reeva highlight he has huge anger issues.”

She added, “I am not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated.”

As part of his parole, Pistorius will have to attend anger management therapy as well as remain under supervision, without leaving the area where he’s staying, for the next five years. He is also to report any chance in his life or situation to authorities.

Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said, “Parole does not mean the end of the sentence. It is still part of the sentence. It only means the inmate will complete the sentence outside a correctional facility.”

Following her daughter’s murder, June Steenkamp created the Reeva Rebecca Skeenkamp Foundation, to “educate and speak against abuse of women and children, as Reeva had done”.

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