Oscar Pistorius: Reeva Steenkamp's parents request a meeting with athlete in emotional new interview after verdict
The model’s father, Barry Steenkamp, said he can only begin to come to terms with their loss once he’s questioned the athlete face to face
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Your support makes all the difference.June Steenkamp might have vocalised her forgiveness for Oscar Pistorius – the boyfriend of their late daughter Reeva, who he shot and killed on Valentine’s Day 2013.
But the model’s father, Barry Steenkamp, has said he can only begin to come to terms with their tragic loss once he’s had the opportunity to question the athlete himself, face to face.
During an interview with BBC 3, scheduled after Pistorius’ verdict of culpable homicide (the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK) was read on Friday (12 September) and broadcast as part of documentary Oscar Pistorius: The Truth on Monday (15 September), he said: “Before I forgive, forgive like any forgiveness, I want to talk to him first.
“It won’t be anything nice or anything like that, but I’d like to sit down and talk to him. And I’m sure that will come about.”
“It will,” June added. “He did ask to speak to us but we weren’t ready. Quite a while ago. You don’t actually want to talk to someone that has done that to your child.”
On whether she felt justice for Reeva’s death had been adequately served by the verdict of culpable homicide, which carries a potential jail sentence of 15 years, June said: “No, definitely not. Very, very disappointed. And very sad, it’s sad, you know? Because you want that for Reeva, justice for her. She died a horrible death. A horrible, painful, terrible death. And she suffered, you know? And he shot through the door. And I can’t believe that they believe it was an accident.
“There’s never going to be closure. Especially now with this verdict. How can there be closure? She’s not coming back. We just have to try and move on with our life, you know? I’m going to build shelters for the abused women, raise money for that.”
“We’re not the only people in the world that are going through a crisis like this, or have been through it,” Barry, becoming tearful, added. “But I’m sure that most people will understand, you know what we’ve been through, and I’d just like it to come to an end now. And for us to carry on.”
“I wanted the truth, I don’t think we got the truth,” June concluded. “That’s the whole point. We did not get the truth.”
Pistorius is currently out on bail and will hear his sentence in Pretoria, South Africa on 13 October.
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