Reeva Steenkamp’s brother makes last-ditch plea to keep her murderer Oscar Pistorius behind bars with the shamed Paralympian expected to win his freedom tomorrow

Adam Steenkamp begged parole board for Pistorius to serve his full sentence

The brother of slain model Reeva Steenkamp tonight made a last-ditch plea that her murderer Oscar Pistorius should remain behind bars.

Shamed Paralympian Pistorius is expected to win his freedom tomorrow in a parole hearing in Pretoria after he become eligible for release for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva on Valentine’s Day morning in 2013.

Now Reeva’s brother Adam Steenkamp has begged the parole board in South Africa to keep Pistorius locked up and serve his full 13-year sentence – and blamed the stress of the case on their heartbroken father’s stroke after the shooting and his death in September.

Speaking to MailOnline from his home in the UK, Adam said: ‘It had been a traumatic last decade on earth for my father trying to deal with Reeva’s death.It took a terrible toll on his health. First, he had a stroke that led to years of ill health. I don’t think his body could take any more.’

Reeva, who was 29 when she was slain by her boyfriend, was half-sister to IT consultant Adam, who lives in Suffolk with his wife and children.

Their father Barry went to his grave haunted that Pistorius never admitted his intention to kill Reeva.

Both his late father and stepmother June Steenkamp had been adamant that Pistorius should remain behind bars, until he told them the truth about how he deliberately killed their daughter.

Mrs Steenkamp says she will not oppose the athlete’s bid for freedom and will not attend tomorrow’s hearing, despite her revulsion over the killing and her hatred for him.

Adam, 46, who in the past described Pistorius’ tearful pleas of innocence at his trial as a ‘grotesque pantomime’ remains insistent that the Paralympian gold medallist’s bid for freedom tomorrow should fall on deaf ears.

He told MailOnline today: ‘From a personal point of view I firmly believe Oscar should serve out his full sentence but the other side of me thinks I have to fully support the laws of the land.

‘The personal aspect for me is so much harder to fathom and understand. You have to focus on the reason Reeva died and you can’t quite see it.

‘The thought that comes into my head is that he is being let off the hook a bit if he gets granted parole.

‘I already thought the original sentence was lenient in itself. I support and understand the reasons for someone getting parole but this is about my sister and I would prefer he serves the time he was given.

Reeva was 29 when she was slain by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, who shot her dead on Valentine’s Day morning in 2013

‘The results of his actions caused so much grief and unhappiness to us as Reeva’s family. I’m still of the view that he has taken no responsibility for his actions that day.

‘I base that view from my father Barry who obviously went to see him in prison so I can’t feel any different. You’ve got to serve your time.

‘My kids are growing up now and my teenage daughter is asking lots and lots of questions and obviously reading things.

‘She is aware of Reeva’s story but doesn’t know all of the graphic details but is old enough to discuss it with her.

‘She started asking me questions about parole and can’t quite understand in her mind why if you do something like Pistorius did and get let out.

Pistorius shot Reeva multiple times through a closed toilet cubicle door in his home in the South African capital, Pretoria

‘In her eyes there is nothing we can do about something that was very tragic and wrong.

‘I try not to feel bitter. This is life and people go to jail and get parole. You have to move on no matter how much her death still hurts us as a family.

‘My dad Barry died in September from an ongoing illness to do with his heart. He was 80, it was a bit unexpected and took us all by surprise.

‘I won’t be speaking to June before the parole decision but ultimately I will have to accept whatever decision is made no matter how much it hurts.’

Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete, who broke barriers by competing on carbon-fibre running blades at the 2012 London Olympics, shot Reeva multiple times through a closed toilet cubicle door in his home in the South African capital, Pretoria, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.

Both his late father and stepmother June Steenkamp had been adamant that Pistorius should remain behind bars, until he told them the truth about how he deliberately killed their daughter

His claim that he shot her in the belief that an intruder had entered his home while he slept was ultimately dismissed by Pretoria judges after he had been cleared of murder and found guilty of culpable homicide.

He was initially convicted of culpable homicide, a charge comparable to manslaughter, in 2014 but the case went through a number of appeals before Pistorius was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017.

Serious offenders in South Africa must serve at least half their sentence before they are eligible for parole.

Pistorius’ case and his parole eligibility had been complicated by appeals by prosecutors, who first challenged his culpable homicide conviction and then a sentence of six years for murder, which they called shockingly lenient.

The Supreme Court of Appeal eventually ruled in 2017 that Pistorius should serve South Africa’s minimum sentence of 15 years for murder, but took into account the year and seven months he had already served for culpable homicide when it delivered the 13 years and five months sentence.

Known as the ‘Blade Runner,’ he was at the height of his fame when he killed Steenkamp months after the London Olympics

However, the court made an error by not counting another period Pistorius had served while his murder sentence was being appealed, meaning he was in fact eligible for parole in March when he was told at his first hearing that he would only be eligible in August 2024.

Pistorius’ lawyers took his case to the country’s apex Constitutional Court. The decision to give Pistorius another parole hearing tomorrow is effectively an admission of the appeal court’s blunder and is likely to help set him free.

At breakfast the killer will be brought from his cell and appear before a parole board at the Atteridgevale prison and his legal team, led by Conrad Dormehl, will argue that he has served sufficient time and that there has been official blunders on time served on his tariff.

Mrs Steenkamp will remain at her Port Elizabeth home, but lawyer Annade Theatrt-Hofmeyr will read out an impact statement on her behalf.

Pistorius is not guaranteed to be granted early release. A parole board takes a number of factors into account, including his conduct and disciplinary record in prison, his mental health and the likelihood of him committing another crime.

The decision to give Pistorius another parole hearing tomorrow is effectively an admission of the appeal court’s blunder and is likely to help set him free

He could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community but have to return to prison at night.

Pistorius was born with a congenital condition that led to his legs being amputated below the knee when he was a baby, but he took up track and won multiple Paralympic titles on his running blades.

He is the only double amputee to run at the Olympics and his London appearance resulted in huge fanfare.

Known as the ‘Blade Runner,’ he was at the height of his fame when he killed Steenkamp months after the London Olympics.

At his murder trial, he claimed he shot Reeva by mistake with his licensed 9 mm pistol because he believed she was a dangerous intruder hiding in his bathroom in the middle of the night.

Mrs Steenkamp will remain at her Port Elizabeth home, but lawyer Annade Theatrt-Hofmeyr will read out an impact statement on her behalf

Pistorius turned 37 on Wednesday and has not been seen for nearly a decade, although there have been occasional glimpses of his time in prison.

Mrs Steenkamp was given the chance to meet her daughter’s killer in the summer of 2022, but declined.

She said: ‘I couldn’t see myself going without hurting him. I didn’t want to go to jail for attacking him. That would have been a great possibility. Things haven’t got better. It gets worse as the time goes by because we miss Reeva every day that she is not here with us.

‘It’s very, very stressful that she couldn’t spend our last days with us because he took her.

‘Oscar has taken a lot away from us and from her. So now instead of getting upset, I get anger. I am angry with him. It is a horrible thing to say, but I can’t stand him.’

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