[ad_1] Killer Oscar Pistorius is set to be freed from jail in January, ten years after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a bathro
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Killer Oscar Pistorius is set to be freed from jail in January, ten years after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door in a murder that would captivate the world.
The South African Paralympic champion was granted early release from prison on parole on Friday.
Prison authorities confirmed he would be released on January 5.
Pistorius shot Reeva, 29, multiple times through the locked bathroom door of his home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.
The former athlete, now 37, has served over half of his sentence in a South African prison after he was jailed for the murder in 2016.
Pistorius – dubbed the “Blade Runner” because of his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs – was sentenced to 13 years and five months.
He has always claimed the shooting was a mistake, saying he thought Reeva was an intruder.
He shot her in the head, hip and arm and later claimed in court that it was only when he broke the bathroom door down that he realised she was in there.
Reeva’s mother June, was reportedly not opposing parole and did not attend the hearing on Friday, the BBC reports.
But she did state in a letter submitted to the hearing that she believed Pistorius’ anger issues had not been resolved in prison.
She added that any woman who came into contact with him could potentially be in danger.
Reeva’s father Barry died in September and June told the parole board that she believes he died from a broken heart after the grief of losing his daughter.
Reeva’s parents strongly objected to Pistorius’ release ahead of his last bid for freedom in March, but they had no power to block it.
June previously said that she thought her husband had died of a broken heart.
“No parent should have to bury a child and most certainly not in the circumstances that prevailed in the demise of Reeva,” she said.
“I do not believe Oscar’s version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar. In fact, I do not know anybody who does.”
Pistorius was denied bail earlier this year because he had not completed the minimum detention period for seious criminals, which in South Africa, is half their sentence.
A statement from the court on Friday described Pistorius as a “first time offender with a positive support system”.
More to follow.
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