In the early morning of February 14, 2003. four shots – the first and then the three – awaken the residents of Silverwoods Country Estate, an upscale enclave in Pretoria (South Africa). Afterwards, seemingly calm, nothing more is heard.
It was a murder. The victim was Reeva Steenkamp.; lawyer, model, countless cover and face on television shows. He was 29 years old and had a brilliant career, fresh out. She was also the partner of Oscar Pistorius. gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics; The same three medals in Beijing in 2008; and another four years later in London. The athlete who made history, the face of Nike Pistorius; the only one competing in some olympics non-Paralympics despite their disabilities. It garnered applause and aroused admiration. He was a symbol, an example and an inspiration. His girlfriend was in the bathroom when four shots were fired. He’s hot.
“It’s been ten years”, Tania Koen, attorney for the Steenkamp family, begins today as the voice of June and Reeva’s parents, Barry. “Ten years… But the pain of the family is even greater today”, CASO ABIERTO account of the Prensa Ibérica event and investigation portal. “This means ten missed birthdays for June, Barry and Reeva. That means ten missed ‘Mother’s Days’, ten missed ‘Father’s Days’ and ten missed Christmases. A decade may seem like a long time to us, but for her family, it’s no less painful than when Reeva died.”
Valentine’s day
On the morning of February 14, 2013, Valentine’s Day. The clock shows 3:20. Reeva Steenkamp lies lifeless. He has one last bullet in the hip, arm and head, deadly.
“Help!” cries of Oscar Pistorius. Two people have just come to your house. He tells them that he shot his girlfriend, explaining this by mistake. “I thought you were an intruder,” he said. It’s full of blood. The scene confuses everyone. Chaos, fear. In his defense, he will say that all he wants is to protect his girlfriend, to protect himself. Say what I heard voices at dawn, who thinks Reeva is asleep. Frightened, she picked up the gun, went to the bathroom, and, thinking someone had broken into her house, fired.
The paramedics, who arrived around four in the morning, They can only confirm that Reeva Steenkamp passed away.. Pistorius was arrested a day later, on February 15, 2013.
“I trust the South African legal system and the facts will show that I didn’t kill Reeva,” he said. reckless murder, they convicted; Considering that Pistorius has proven that he intentionally fired even though he had no intention of killing the person behind the door. The athlete only spent a few months in prison.
The contradictions, the public’s reaction, the quarrel of lawyer Tania Koen speaking to this media today, and the prosecution’s appeal against the sentence on the grounds that it was “scandalously light”, eventually led to two revisions and a new decision. sentences. What is certain is that Pistorius was found guilty. He was sentenced to 13 years and 5 months in prison for murder.
The athlete argued and argues that this was a tragic mistake. “Based on the evidence presented in court, they don’t believe it was an accident,” Koen sums up to OPEN CASE. Reeva’s family doesn’t think so either.
His version: “I accidentally hit it”
“On February 13, Reeva was dating her friends and I was dating my friends, but she called me and said she’d rather spend the night together. I agreed and contented ourselves with having a quiet dinner at home (…),” Pistorius began, in the defense that OPEN CASE had access to. “We were deeply in love and I couldn’t have been happier. I know he feels the same way. He gave me a valentine’s present, but asked me to open it the next day.”.
In front of the police, in front of the judge, the athlete assured that they had dinner and lay on the bed to watch TV. calculate this Reeva started practicing yoga. “When he finished his exercises, he went to bed and we fell asleep.” It was ten o’clock at night.
“I know very well that intruders who entered the houses engaged in acts of violence in order to commit crimes. I have received death threats before. I have been a victim of violence and theft before. That’s why I held my gun, a 9mm Parabellumunder my bed when I go to bed at night,” he argues.
“I heard a noise. I felt a sense of fear come over me. (…) I was filled with dread and dread that an intruder or intruders were in the bathroom. I had no prosthetic legs and felt very vulnerable. I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself,” she explains. Pull. Four times. Pull.
“Although I don’t have legs, my stumps are movable. I was afraid to turn on the light. I grabbed my gun(…). On the way to the bathroom, I either shot at her from the bathroom door and shouted at Reeva to call the police. When I got to bed I realized that Reeva was gone.. That’s when I thought it might be what was there. I went back to the bathroom saying his name.. I tried to open the door, it was locked.”
Pistorius continues: “I put on my prosthetic legs, ran to the bathroom and tried to kick them open. I went back to the bedroom and got my cricket bat.” broke the door. “I found the key on the floor and opened it. Reeva was slumped to the floor…but she was alive.” He took it out, died a few minutes later.
contradictions
Upon the notification of the emergency service teams, the teams who came to the house came to the scene. The athlete talked about an accident, but something creaked at them from the very beginning. Reeva’s phone appeared in the bathroom. Why was the door locked from the inside and why had the model taken her phone there? A doubt arose: The possibility that the young woman had taken the phone with her so that she could lock herself while running away from something and report it..
Some witnesses confirmed that they heard an argument and heard a woman’s screams before the shooting was opened.
Everyone knew Pistorius’ successful and smiling A side, but researchers began to suspect and investigate the B side. They questioned the inhabitants of the same urbanization. Some made sure they heard voices since 1:30 in the morning. That these cries are part of an argument. They say they heard a woman’s scream seconds before the shooting. “We believe that the witnesses heard these cries,” the lawyer explains, “but we cannot confirm this. maybe Pistorius will at some point tell you more about what happened that night. It hasn’t happened until now,” complains Koen.
He called after Pistorius was shot. He claims to have called for help and announced that he accidentally shot Reeva. At the trial, security chief of urbanization He confirmed that he talked to the athlete, but only told him “everything is fine”.
The forensic report found food in Reeva’s stomach that had been consumed about two hours before she died, according to experts. Since She died between 15:12 and 15:16, the time interval is around 1:00 in the morning. Pistorius made sure they fell asleep by 10pm. The autopsy also found urine in Reeva’s bladder. The same question is back, did he go to the bathroom to pee or did he just want to hide there?
Pistorius shot, he says, not knowing who and who no intention to kill The cabin with no outlet was small, a toilet. bullets used, black heelis wide; It is designed to open and cause maximum damage when entering the person’s body.
“Pistorius couldn’t explain why he did it.”restructures Tania Koen. “Admitted evidence revealed inconsistencies in his statement as to why he had slammed the bathroom door.” Fear, vulnerability for not wearing their prostheses. The agents doubted this was real because of the direction (altitude, trajectory) of the shots.
“These contradictions were so serious that the Supreme Court stated that it was not really known what Pistorius’ explanation was,” the lawyer said. “He stopped at the bathroom door and, noticing someone there, fired four rounds… and never gave a reasonable explanation for doing so. (There must be a real danger to life to seek self-defense). “This court found that the evidence was ‘so contradictory and did not know the person’s true explanation for the shooting,’” Tania Koen complains to OPEN CASE.
Two weeks before Pistorius killed him, his girlfriend texted him on his cell phone: “Sometimes I’m afraid of you.”
At the scene of the crime, Reeva’s blood was found not only in the bathroom, but next to the nightstand. According to witnesses, the possibility that the first bullet to leave in time from the next triple explosion was not in the toilet was drawn. Could not be tested. After the chaos, the crime scene was polluted.
Violent, aggressive and manipulative
The prosecution questioned some of his past environment. They would describe them as “violent”, “aggressive”, “manipulative” before a judge. Nothing in the public image Pistorius projected seemed real. The investigation revealed a hidden side of the athlete: “obsessed with guns,” he had ordered six.
Some “accidents” were discovered. A month before the crime, He asked a friend to blame him for “accidentally” shooting on the ground at a restaurant.. Another episode was when he fired into the air from a convertible. He was angry because the police had stopped them.
Messages and calls were analyzed. Pistorius, whose iPhone 5 was confiscated, said he forgot his passwords. Researchers had to contact Apple to gain access. Two weeks ago, Reeva had texted him: “Sometimes I’m afraid of you.”
conditional freedom
Reeva died in 2013, and the final punishment didn’t come until 2017. A four-year appeal and a televised legal journey that has left her family in even more pain. “She’s emotionally drained for June and Barry as she constantly opens her wounds,” Tania Koen complains.
The last one, a few weeks ago, When Pistorius applied for parole. “The Board rejected it because the required portion of Pistorius’ sentence (total length of stay) has not yet been reached,” explains Koen. Situation indispensable To be able to demand according to African justice. It will do it again, asking to be released again when it has expired. Koen knows, Barry and June know too.
“Any violation that meets the requirements will be released. So we expect that to happen, Pistorius will be paroled in the future“, she complains. It hurts. Not a little bit. “The family doesn’t believe Pistorius is upset or rehabilitated.”
Reeva was 29 when Pistorius killed her. “He was intelligent and adored his family,” explains Koen. “She loved people, family and animals. She graduated with a law degree, was a beautiful and famous model. She was hardworking and kind. He was going to give a speech at a high school in Johannesburg the day he was killed.. I wanted to fight for women.” They didn’t let him. He didn’t come.