Barry Steenkamp, the 73-year old father of Reeva Steenkamp has said Oscar Pistorius, the former athlete convicted of their daughter’s murder, must pay for the crime of murdering his girlfriend Reeva.
Mr Steenkamp said although he and his wife - June, have forgiven 29-year old Pistorius, the fatal shooting has left the family devastated.
Barry Steenkamp
Barry Steenkamp
He said forgiving the runner was very hard. "It just devastated us, I ended up having a stroke... I just don't wish that on anybody in this world."
He asked the court to allow pictures of his daughter, who was 29 years old when she was murdered, to be shown to the world as a deterrent to would-be killers.
The Paralympian gold medallist was initially convicted of culpable homicide, similar to manslaughter, and bagged a 5-year sentence, but the conviction was upgraded to murder after an appeal by State prosecutors. He was released on bail after 10 months and has been living under effective house arrest at the luxurious Pretoria home of his uncle. He faces a minimum 15-year jail term.
Much of the legal argument around the killing has centred on whether Pistorius knew Reeva, who was 29, was in the toilet when he shot at the door. The former athlete has repeatedly said he thought an intruder had broken into the home and was hiding in the cubicle.
Jonathan Scholtz, a psychologist called by Pistorius' lawyer, told the court yesterday - the first day of the hearing, that the athlete was "a broken man" on medication for depression, anxiety and insomnia who should be hospitalised and not jailed.
However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius has shown no remorse for shooting and killing Steenkamp when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home. Nel also said he had had temper tantrums while serving his sentence.
The lower part of Pistorius' legs were amputated when he was a baby, and he is known as "Blade Runner" for the carbon-fibre prosthetics he wore when racing.
He reached the pinnacle of his fame in London 2012 when he became the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, reaching the 400 metres semi-finals.