More questions than answers surround the cold-blooded shooting of Olympian Oscar Pistorius’ girlfriend.
Reeva Steenkamp didn’t expect to spend Valentine’s Day terrified in a starkly lit bathroom, pleading for her life on a cold marble floor. This was meant to be a romantic day with the one she loved.
But somehow the great love between the glamorous South African law graduate-turned model and double-amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius had unexpectedly turned to horror.
Reeva’s life was about to be snuffed out in the dark early morning by several fatal gun shots. Her boyfriend, the star of the London Olympics, the man known as “Blade Runner”, is now in a red-brick South African cell, accused of her “premeditated murder”.
Was there a history of domestic violence between the so-called “blissful couple” who first met last November at a car racing track? The attraction had been instant, even though Oscar was still dating another woman.
Police have said there had been later “domestic altercations” between the couple. A friend of Reeva, Maddie Simms, has also spoken out, claiming: “While Oscar definitely loved Reeva, he was insanely jealous. He would get angry if she was late, if she asked a waiter too many questions or dressed too casually, in his mind.”
Another shocking aspect of this bizarre killing are new, as yet unconfirmed, reports that Reeva was pregnant with Oscar’s child. News of Reeva’s murder shocked the world. Her distraught mum, June, best summed up the bewilderment: “In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here. Why? Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?”
Oscar, 26, has staunchly denied the killing, emotionally telling a packed court room: “We were in love and I could not have been happier. I know she felt the same way.”
Stunned onlookers packed the Pretoria court, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the sporting hero now accused of murder. Oscar says he noticed the bathroom window was open and the toilet door off the bathroom was locked. He says he was convinced there had been a break-in, and that the intruder had locked themselves in. He claims he had been receiving death threats. He said he called for Reeva, who he thought was still in bed.
“I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva, ‘Phone the police’. She did not respond.”
He says when he realised Reeva may be in the bathroom, he put on his prosthetic legs, tried to kick down the door, then bashed it in with a cricket bat to find Reeva, 29, shot inside.
“I had no intention to kill my girlfriend. I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder let alone premeditated murder.”
The prosecution dismissed Oscar’s emotional account. They claim it was all pre-planned.
“Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom,” prosecutor Gerrie Nel demanded. And as mourners gathered at a private funeral ceremony in Reeva’s hometown of Port Elizabeth, the world is left wondering what really happened that shadowy Valentines morning. Murder, or a tragic case of mistaken identity?
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