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It’s been ten years since Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in what the Paralympian at the time described as a case of ‘mistaken identity’. Back then it felt as if the tragedy unfolded in real time as details emerged in the days after that fateful Valentine’s Day. The next few months were a media frenzy as everyone searched for answers to the senseless killing.
What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay
— Reeva Steenkamp (@reevasteenkamp) February 13, 2013
Oscar himself seemed to be as confused as everyone else at times when he tried to convince judge Thokozile Masipa that he thought it was ‘an intruder’ and therefore deemed it necessary to fire a gun through a closed door. His argument that Reeva was collateral damage didn’t convince many and the sprinter, once the darling of South African sport, was sent to prison for 13 years.
A lot has happened in the decade following the events of that night – Oscar appealed an earlier, more lenient sentence, and ended up getting sent away for longer. Reeva’s family went on grieving and eventually ‘forgave Oscar‘. Reeva sadly became a tragic memory, and the media found some new bloody sensation to lead with.
But this Valentine’s Day may be the last tragic anniversary that Oscar has to relive behind bars as he is set to be up for a parole hearing next month. His ‘unit manager’ in charge of rehabilitation seems to think he is ready.
“He is a trustworthy individual who can defuse tense situations, ready to be re-integrated into society and will be a positive influence in the community”.
The Steenkamp family has however now decided to oppose the parole bid, insisting that their daughter’s killer has ‘never shown remorse’. A recent SA People article quotes her father Barry as saying:
“After all these years, we are still waiting for him to admit he did it in anger. That is all we wanted. If he told me the truth, he would have been a free man by now, and I would have let the law take its course over his parole. But I was wasting my time. He is a murderer. He should remain in jail”.
Whether the reports of Oscar’s good behaviour will be enough to counter the family’s objections will be decided in March. What his life will be like outside of prison is not known, but the Steenkamp’s will never again experience Valentine’s Day as anything besides a heartbreaking reminder of what they have lost.
