‘I want to tell them I’m sorry’: Oscar Pistorius pleads for forgiveness of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp’s family

Jailed paralympian said to be ‘more concerned’ about seeking absolution than parole

Pistorius was jailed over shooting his girlfriend dead in his Pretoria home (Getty)

Convicted killer and former paralympian Oscar Pistorius has pleaded for forgiveness from the family of his victim, saying: “I want to tell them I'm sorry.”

The South African sprinter was jailed for 13 years for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home in 2013.

A friend of Pistorius who has visited him in jail reportedly said the disgraced athlete was asking to be forgiven by Steenkamp's bereaved family members.

Bill Schroder, the athlete's former headteacher, told The Sun on Sunday: “What he really, really wants is forgiveness.

“I said to him that if he had killed my daughter, I doubt I would forgive him.

“He is more concerned about forgiveness than actually getting out on parole. In fact, he has a real fear about getting parole as he knows they’ll be a backlash.”

In 2018, Steenkamp's mother June said she had forgiven Pistorius but had no interest in talking to him. Ms Steenkamp added that she had not personally told Pistorius he was forgiven.

Mr Schroder also said Pistorius “still maintains to this day it was an accident.”

He said: “I did feel he was showing remorse.

“He quoted a study by an expert that when you are woken from a deep sleep and are put into a situation of fear that you act very differently to when fully conscious. I listened to him but did not buy it.”