Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June says Oscar Pistorius ‘lost his temper’ before shooting her daughter dead as she speaks out after Blade Runner’s release from prison

Reeva Steenkamp’s mother has broken her silence on the release of Oscar Pistorius less than a decade after he was jailed for her daughter’s murder, saying the disgraced former Olympian ‘lost his temper’ on the night that he shot his girlfriend.

June Steenkamp today gave her first TV interview since her daughter’s killer was released on parole, telling Good Morning Britain that Pistorius ‘never told the truth’ about his crime and ‘never showed any remorse’.

The South African sprinter known as ‘The Blade Runner’ shot his 29-year-old model girlfriend through a closed bathroom door on Valentine’s Day 2013, claiming he mistook her for an intruder, and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Under South African law, prisoners are eligible to apply for parole once they have served half their sentence. Pistorius was initially refused, but has now received it.

As the former Paralympian gets his first taste of freedom, June said in a statement after his release that she and the rest of Reeva’s family are serving a “life sentence in prison,” adding today that she will leave her “beautiful, amazing child.” misses every day. .

June and her husband Barry have campaigned for years to get the truth about their daughters’ murders out

Speaking on the ITV morning show, June, who is originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, said she understood that Pistorius had to ‘come out’ at some point and that nothing could be done to bring her daughter back.

‘Now that he’s coming out, he has to come out too, it’s inevitable. I realize that. We can’t keep him in, he’s on parole now, it won’t make any difference in my life.

“He’s done what he’s already done and there’s nothing I can do about it and I’ve lost the most beautiful, wonderful child. And now that I’ve been without her for so many years, I miss her every day.’

Pistorius, 37, has long denied killing Reeva in cold blood and has insisted her shooting was an accident because he thought there was an intruder in their home when he shot his 9mm Parabellum pistol four times through a closed toilet door lap.

But June and her family have always maintained he never told the truth about the murder. She continued: “He never told the truth, I don’t believe he told the truth at all, and he never showed any remorse, so I have to accept that the law has to take its course and that’s what Barry and I have done.”

A year before he died last September, Reeva’s father Barry Steenkamp visited Pistorius in St. Albans prison in the South African coastal city of Port Elizabeth, hoping to get a guilty plea from the former double-amputee sprinter.

Speaking about Barry visiting Pistorius, June said of the killer, who has a history of anger problems: “He lost his temper, he can’t control his temper and he lost his temper because (Reeva) said, ‘I’m leaving, I go away. doesn’t want to be with you”. Her clothes were packed and everything.”

June and her husband Barry campaigned for years to get the truth about their daughters’ murders out, and mourned her loss for more than a decade. She now says she also lost her husband to the tragedy.

Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June has broken her silence on the release of Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius was released after serving more than half his prison sentence in 2016 (pictured in 2016)

June Steenkamp and Barry Steenkamp, ​​the parents of Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead by Oscar Pistorius

‘I think my husband died of a broken heart, he was very strange when he died, he just went to bed early and just died in his sleep.

‘But he couldn’t live without our daughter, she was the most wonderful person, the most loving, caring – she loved us and cared for us.

“It doesn’t matter that he’s on parole because it’s inevitable.

Asked if she thought Pistorius had gotten enough time behind bars, June said: “No, I don’t think he got enough time in prison.

“It seemed pathetic at first when we got the six-year sentence, and I thought it was just not enough; the judge treated him almost like a child. You know, ‘be a good boy and go home’.

“It was a big thing he did, he used the ‘Black Talon’ bullets to kill her and he should have known he would have killed her.

‘There was no hope for her after those bullets, they enter your body and break your bones.

“So why would he use those bullets if he didn’t want to kill her in the first place? Because he knew she was in the bathroom because they had a huge fight.

Reeva Steenkamp, ​​a successful model and qualified lawyer, was murdered by athlete Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day in 2013

“It’s a sad story, it’s a made up story, I don’t think it was because of him – in my mind I think someone helped him with the story. It was pathetic.

When asked how she will cope without her beloved daughter and husband, the widow said: “I believe in God, I try to be a good person and I love everyone, but I think God saved my life. by me.

She added that in addition to being helped by her faith, friends and messages of support from around the world, she also plans to “find a job to keep me busy.”

Although he is no longer behind bars in Atteridgeville prison, Pistorius will serve the remainder of his sentence – which expires in December 2029 – under strict parole conditions.