Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June has shared details on a meeting with Oscar Pistorius as part of his parole process. June will appear in three-part docu-series ‘My Name is Reeva’, which kicks off on Thursday, 25 August.
Images via YouTube screenshot/Carte Blanche
‘I don’t want to see him’: Reeva’s mom refused Oscar parole meet
Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, turned down the chance to face Oscar Pistorius after he requested a meeting as part of his parole process.
Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June has shared details on a meeting with Oscar Pistorius as part of his parole process. June will appear in three-part docu-series ‘My Name is Reeva’, which kicks off on Thursday, 25 August.
Images via YouTube screenshot/Carte Blanche
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp had opposing views when it came to meeting their daughter’s murderer Oscar Pistorius as part of his parole process.
Whilst dad Barry was keen to hear what Pistorius had to say, mom June was adamantly against it.
The blonde model and law graduate was gunned down on Valentine’s Day 2013. This, after spending the night at the former Paralympian’s Pretoria home.
After a publicised trial, Pistorius was convicted of murder in December 2015 and was handed a six-year prison sentence. However, his jail term was increased to 13 years following an unsuccessful appeal in November 2017.
ALSO READ: ‘My name is Reeva’: M-Net’s haunting doccie on model’s life, death [trailer]
JUNE STEENKAMP TURNED DOWN OSCAR PISTORIUS MEETING
Speaking to Carte Blanche, Reeva Steenkamp’s mom June revealed why she rejected the opportunity to partake in the meeting.
Oscar Pistorius’s plea to meet Reeva’s parents forms part of the Correctional Service’s “Victim Offender Dialogue” in the parole process, which he is now eligible for. Offenders become eligible for parole after serving half of their sentence.
June said on camera: “Death defines me, her death. I’m not the same person.
“We [Barry and I] were both grieving all this time, it ruined our life not having her, it ruined our marriage as well”.
Of coming face-to-face with Pistorius, she said: “I don’t want to see him again ever. I would have been feeling ill and afraid. I’m not sure why afraid”.
Ultimately, Barry agreed to meet the man who cold-bloodedly shot and killed his daughter.
The 79-year-old – who has had two strokes and a mental breakdown following Reeva’s death, as per his court testimony – admitted he sought psychological help ahead of the meeting.
He said of the psychologist’s recommendations: “She said as a professional, she would tell me not to go. Then I asked her: ‘If it was your daughter, what would you do?’. She said: ‘Then I would go’”.
‘MY NAME IS REEVA’ DOCCIE SET TO AIR TONIGHT
Meanwhile, part one of the three-part docu-series My Name Is Reeva, is set to premiere on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Thursday 25 August at 20:30. Part two will be scheduled on Thursday 1 September and the third instalment on Thursday 8 September.
Speaking to Carte Blanche, director and producer Warren Batchelor said: “This is not sensationalism. This is a human story about two people’s journey. Old wounds have been opened up and they’ve had to relive it again”.
He also told Cape Talk: “This has taken seven years to get to the screen and finally Reeva has a voice. The reason they wanted to do this was because they wanted to give a voice to all the victims who don’t have a voice, who don’t have a name…
“The reason that I called it My Name Is Reeva is because when the murder happened she was called the girlfriend, the model, the deceased and she never had a name…
My Name is Reeva will touch on the events of that fateful night and the events thereafter.
