Oscar Pistorius is finding out today if he will be released from a South African prison after serving nine years for the 2013 murder of model girlfriend Reeva Steencamp. The Paralympic athlete shot Ms Steenkamp dead in the early hours of Valentine’s Day and shot four times through the bathroom door of his house in Pretoria.
Ms Steenkamp’s mother arrived at Atteridgeville Prison, a low-security prison just outside Pretoria, to testify at the parole board hearing and will plead against his release.
Pistorius, who was convicted of the crime in 2014, was given a six-year prison sentence two years later – but this was eventually increased to 13 years after an appeal by the South African National Prosecutor’s Office (NPA).
The 36-year-old recently met with Reeva’s father, Barry, as part of a mandatory process known as “victim-perpetrator dialogue.”
However, Ms Steenkamp is unhappy that the six-time Paralympic Games gold medalist continues to insist he accidentally shot her, claiming he thought she was a robber.
Initially, Pistorius was convicted of wrongful manslaughter, but on appeal, he was found guilty of murder, allegedly knowing that shooting through the locked bathroom door would have resulted in the death of the person on the other side.
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