E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Frennie Shivambu / JustusMedia via Reuters
South African "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius, right, smiles with his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg on Nov. 4. Steenkamp is dead, Pistorius is being charged with her murder and the woman's mother wants answers.
The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot to death Thursday in the home of Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, vented her grief and frustration to a South African newspaper.
The interview, conducted by telephone Sunday and reported Monday by The Times of Johannesburg, appears to be June Steenkamp's first since her daughter's death at Pistorius' home in the gated Silver Woods Luxury Estate outside Pretoria.
"Why? Why my little girl?" she asked. "Why did this happen? Why did he do this? What for?"
Pistorius, 26, has been in custody since the shooting and is to be formally charged in a court appearance Tuesday with the murder of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate, model and actress who had gained global attention with her blond good looks and bubbly personality.
He has strongly denied allegations that he murdered his girlfriend.
NBC News' full coverage of the Oscar Pistorius case
June Steenkamp told The Times that she and her family are left searching for logic in a time of grief and shock.
"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with," she said. "All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."
Reeva Steenkamp was recently featured in the new season of a reality show, "Tropika Island of Treasure"; had done promotional work for international brands including Toyota; and was on the December 2011 cover of FHM magazine, which named her one of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" two years in a row.
"She had so much of herself to give and now all of it is gone," June Steenkamp said. "Just like that, she is gone. … In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here."
Mike Steenkamp, whom The Times identified as a family spokesman, said the Steenkamps were trying to simply make it through the funeral, which like Pistorius' court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
"For now, we are just focusing on … getting this part of the difficult journey behind us," he told The Times.
"We're trying not to think about Oscar or the court appearance," he added. "We have deliberately not watched TV or listened to the radio. We just don't want to think about it. We want to blank it all out and focus for now on the here and now."
Leave a Comment:
"Why my little girl?"
I know where you're coming from, and I don't mean to be callous, but this happened because your daughter was with a psychotic nutcase (from steroids, genetic, injury, culture, ???) which was aggravated by his drinking, and she didn't get out of there when the cops came two hours earlier because of the "domestic disturbance". This guy was death-by-firearm (and/or cricket bat) waiting to happen.
I'd say she'd consider Pistorius his ex-boyfriend the second the gun was fired.
There are never satisfactory answers to senseless behavior only questions. Yet regardless of any reasons given she will still be dead. God bless her family and those who loved her.
I really do feel so sorry for her family. From all of the evidence that has come out, there is no possible way this could have been an accidental shooting or him mistaking her for an intruder. If he thought there was an intruder in the house, his first concern would have been for his girlfriend in bed next to him in the nightie police found her wearing when they arrived to his house the second time, two hours after they were there a first time to break up their violent argument. But evidence is starting to come out he began shooting at her in the bedroom and chased her into the bathroom, shooting through the door, breaking it down and shooting her one more time inside the bathroom, then maybe finishing her off with his cricket bat. They think he may have shot at her 5 and maybe even 6 times now. Him now trying to pawn this off as an accident or him mistaking her for an intruder proves that he has absolutely no remorse.
Apparently, she was condition to migrate to abusive/dominate situations/relationships. The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, might want to examine her own situation!
RIP Reeva! Let's hope justice will be served!
He was an abuser and now he has to pay the price for his murderous behavior. The South African prisons got to be hell on Earth...guess Pistorius will find out soon enough.
Talkabout a triple insult...this girl is murdered in cold blood, his family defends him then HER father says "we have no hate in our hearts for him." And to add insult to fatal injury he'll get 25 years at the most for taking her life? What does it take these days to stir someone to justifiable outrage? If I was her father he'd be in MY crosshairs.
My guess is Pistorius suffered from depression, jealously, and a lot of pent-up rage.
Only a woman could drive you too it! HA! Ha!Ha! Poor bastard would have been better off Gay!
Yes,and this,stunning,and educated girl,so gifted should of been seriously advised not bother with such a man.But,as an upcoming model,she wanted to piggy pack onto his fame.The connections,money,photographers.Even in today's liberated times,women still do this,and its tragic.Some just loose themselves;this stellar girl,her life.
How come "Trainers" or Coaches of Athletes in both Pro, and Olympic do not see mental health issues with their clients?---
Is it all for the money and Fame?---Mental Illness just does not happen overnight---there are signals to family and friends---It's all about love for famous people, ignoring the signs trouble is ahead..
Yet, our own America has so many nutcases, undiagnosed, they have been on rampage murders in the last few years---
South Africa where Pistorius lived was full of violence, murder, crime, robbery. South Africa is known for their extreme violence in the cities, elsewhere. Pristorius is a real lier when he said it was a break in---cricket bat blood, shooting thru the bathroom door, even tho she had been shot before. DNA; that will be the 99 per cent answer.
I am so sorry for this Mother, who has to endure every single moment grieving every second, because her daughter did not see the signs of potential Domestic Violence Death, and day after day listening to the Media focus on her violent death. There are usually death threats in cases like this---
"Love is Blind".
My heart goes out to the parents. Parents should never lose a child.
Apparently he shot her through a door. He had to know it was her from her voice at least.
I love sports, and admire athletes. But we put these guys on pedestals they just can't handle. My guess it was an OJ Simpson act. Beautiful girl killed by jealous lover (or ex lover).
For the longest time I've been hearing about how athletes are full of themselves and egomaniacs, etc, etc.
Call me naive but I never bought into that, but it just keeps on happening. Lance Armstrong, Clemens, you name it, one after the other.
I suppose that boosting your testosterone, naturally or otherwise, can really screw you up.
The message in all of this is to be aware of people who try very hard to sell themselves.
It's not just athletes. Politicians have been doing it for years.
the womwn dressed like a whore
she was a whore
Olias: I do not believe for one minute Roger Clemens was guilty of knowingly taking steroids or any illegal performance enhancers. I really feel he was framed and set up.
@Lar Admiring people because they can run fast is pretty moronic IMO, and explains why society is in such a poor state.
Maybe she was a replicant.
You know even if Pistorious doesnt get life for this tragic killing, our God will have a much stiffer penalty for his crime of eternal damnation. May God have mercy on his soul.
Reeva did NOT Comprehend this guy was a dangerous NutJob; The cops were there 2 Hours earlier to breakup "A Domestic"?? Wow, If this was One more of Many, Reeva could have Hauled Her Pretty Little Butt the Hell outta there. RIP Reeva, Rest In Peace Girl. The South AfroAuthorities will convict this NutJob and toss his cruel @$$ in Prison for the Rest O his worthless life...HOPEFULLY.
And So anti gun camps are Again parading to get rid of guns in America....Law Abiding Americans are already DisObeying the law by keeping SemiAuto and Auto Pistols and rifles InHome for their Own Protection. Confiscate American's Guns??? What happened when the "Law" confiscated Alcohol during Prohibition??? Foreign Distilleries were just waiting for the Oppty and the Booze Flooded in Across the Borders and Ocean Bootlegged LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW. What do the Big Corporations think will happen when they get their LapDog Politicos and Armed Thugs eerrr...cops to confiscate so only criminals and nutjobs like PissyStoryforUS have FireArms???? Law Abiding Citizens DO NOT Blow Away Others to satisfy rage like mommy's boy, adam, who whacked his Mother also without eye contact like pissstoryus; brave "young men" They...... And Yes, There Are Over 320Million+ Guns in American CITIZEN'S HANDS. A Militia.....
HHHMmmmmmmm...... All of a Sudden the health insurance company's sick people acceptance program is "winding down"for lack of funds..AND AND!! AND!!! AND!!!!! the ceo for UnitedHealthCare GREEDILY grabbed $128,000,000 * CASH * for his 2008 "take home salary. Please go to Yahoo or Bing or Google to check that out So You KNOW PB is Not BSing You. And now the "health insurance companies" are renegging at keeping insured policies at "lower premium" cost And!!! Americans will BE FORCED to buy an Insurance Product much like car insurance at the price insurance companies insist on AND!!!!!!! American Salaried people will be paying the Same AMOUNT of Taxes as people do in the "other sane countries" EXCEPT there they have Universal national healthCare Systems where the government gives them National HealthCare ID Cards good in ALL heir Clinics and Hospitals Including Meds Assisstance!!!! and Garanteed Vacations and Unified company training and garanteed salary...No wonder the Danes and Others are reasonably Happy...they are not worried about being forced to sleep in cardboard boxes on freezing nights while the evil rich throw $Million dollar Parties, as they try to confiscate American Citizen's fireArms; Because people are getting wise to what the "Big Picture Is".....
Oscar simply could not come to terms that Reeva was ENDING THE RELATIONSHIP. There is no other explanation. The "We are so in love" tableau presented to the world by Reeva and Oscar, belied the living HELL that their relationship was really in. Oscar simply went POSTAL when REALITY finally sank in. He would be the LAUGHING STOCK OF THE PLANET, REGARDLESS OF FAMOUS HE IS AS AN ATHLETE. Of course he will beat this with the TEMPORARY INSANITY DEFENCE
God bless them on this road, as it is a road that will never end. To lose a child is a tough thing to go through.
She should never have called him "Stumpy."
That's really cold Leroy. Maybe we should call you Leroy 'Ice' Brown ? Calling someone names like this is like calling blacks 'ni.....' or Indians 'Red......' or mentally challenged 'Ret.......'. Sorry but this is really inconsiderate. Reminds me of the time I had a full body cast for 3 years and then a crazy huge walking brace with Frankenstein boot and other children ridiculed me mercilessly. What is wrong with MANKIND?
We are basically all evil animals.
Or at least, she should have made it clear to which body part she was referring... Yeah, I know, cold, heartless, whatever. Let's be honest, if these people hadn't been famous, would anyone really care, other than their immediate families?
Tell ya what, Gizmo, If I murder someone in cold blood, you can call me whatever you like. With this piece of crap "bladerunner," all bets are off as far as I'm concerned.
I remember during the Olympics, the media was making this guy out to be some kind of a martyr or saint. I'm always skeptical whenever that happens and the death of this beautiful young girl is exactly why.
Did you read the first few stories on this murder? At the end of the reporting on the crime, the media followed it up with his sports statistics and records making him out like some super hero. The media seems to do that with all sports figures when they are caught in a crime as if their sports records really mean something or make up for what they have done. Oh, he may have killed this woman, but he is such a brave and wonderful athlete!!!
Ala the news and Ray Lewis ,sounds familiar
Hitler (1922) alluded to the Zionist-Bolshevik Media and their connection with demagoguery. These people go to extreme such hiring professional actors who can cry on direction. Anything to cause emotional responses in the viewer or listener.
Apparently it is the nature of some to want to FEEL emotion for someone else. So, the media serves these people what they want (the essence of the Holy Roman Empire).
This will not last forever.
strega2184769 what the f#ck does ray lewis have to do with this story idiot
I watched him and thought big deal, so he can run fast.
Rodney what do you mean they make olympians to be all that? prove when someone dies prove they don't decay.
she's got with this guy knowing hes a sinner,knowing the domestic dispute situiation she stayed in,so she's not glorious herself.
Tragic no matter how you look at it.The trial will reveal if it was murder or as he stated thinking that she was an intruder.Since they'd had reports of domestic disputes in the past she should have gotten away from him the very first time.I'm thinking though along the lines of her telling him that she was leaving him and this was the result.Her family will never have their answer and the loss of a child is never going to be easy.
It's not just that the police were called to this house for domestic disputes in the past. The police were at this home two hours before this woman was shot dead to break up a fight between them.
Such a very sad thing to have happen. Beautiful lady! Sounds like this relationship was are recipe for
disaster. If they were living in a gated community and I'm sure they must have an alarm system in
their home, then why should this have happen at all? Crazy!
I suspect the parents of the two people O.J. Simpson butchered thought the same thing.
Luckily, Mrs Woods was the one wielding the seven iron and not Tiger.
Celebrity marriages of athletes have a poor track record.
Guess the money and fame mean more than love.
I guess those are the only 2 you could think of and there was NO murder in the Woods saga...SHE was the aggressive NOT Tiger. He committed no crime.
Fred what a forgettable remark. What would make you think Tiger would abuse his wife? Sounds to me like you're a fat boy who flunked PE and hasn't lost his anger towards athletes.
Didn't the movie "Full Metal Jacket" have some "fat body" named Fred Hug-a-nut in it?
Hooking up with white trash porn stars and local bar maids and waitresses may not be a crime but it certainly mental abuse of your wife. The fact that anyone can allow their kids to look up to that prick is beyond me.
Celebrities get ink joe blow gets two lines on the back page. Percentages for normal people and "celebrities" is essentially the same.
Ms. Steenkamp: Because your little girl lived with a man she knew to be a violent abuser, all the while preaching to other women how to avoid it. She died of hypocrisy and stupidity at the hands of an entitled, South African piece of shyte. You raised her wrong, scum, and she was bound to find one abuser or another.
Now Bruce, how can you be so nasty when these folks are deeply shocked and grieving?
Her life and what she had achieved does not reflect a wrongful upbringing - reflects just the opposite.
One would think HE would have considered all he had to loose before going nuts. No accident here so I hope he gets the punishment he deserves.
Bruce I must allso say something here,That scumbag killed this women out right.Confrontation dictates that two apposeing objects move away from one another.There is no exscuse for what he has done.You and the whole world need to sit back and reflect on how we treat other people.It has become a cold unfriendly planet.
Bruce, do not pass go, do not collect this month's food stamps, go straight to hell!
You a clown
bruce.......you might want to have your attic checked. Hateful words lead to hateful actions!
Bruce you are the type of person some tell to go stick your head in a bucket of gasoline and light a cigarette
Bruce in Austin: you're a real d*ck
This guy is no longer a hero to anyone. I just hope he doesn't get off with a hand slap one never knows what could happen there, I suppose if promised enough big bucks he might be able to buy his way out of jail in a year or two..I feel so sorry for her family and for his too for that matter..
It's the same old story. That woman who killed her neighbor for a beer got 30 years. The wealthy professor who murdered his wife while she wrapped Christmas presents to save money on a divorce got 5 years. The wealthy write the laws and can afford the best lawyers.
This is truly sad, the young lady had so much to live for. But many females keep returning to abusive relationships in the hopes they can change their chosen loved ones behavior.
In retrospect that South African cardiosurgeon who used to strap down helpless Chimps in heart transplant surgeries to people with the Chimps looking directly into his eyes right before going under anesthesia was sort of like a murderer too. Either way it is a life lost................
There must be some internal meter people can use to determine if someone is just angry, you know all people and all couples, friends, family and everyone else get into fights and arguments. But when someone goes into an uncontrolled rage and you see it and understand what it is, you should realize that is a person to stay away from and leave. Obviously, if they get violent and do something like punch a hole in a wall or strike you - that should be it - be through with that person already.
Number one tip on breaking up with a person like this. Do not tell them you are leaving them for good while they are in that rage. If you can, instead, tell them you're going to go back to your home, or parents home (if you're married) or a friend's house until they cool down. Again, don't say you're leaving them permanently, unless being shot or bludgeoned seems good to you.
Then, in a day or so, break up with over the phone - not in person.
If you have stuff there, if you can live without it, leave it there. If it is something important to you, go get it with a few friends, preferably when the person you are leaving is not there.
Don't take stuff you know is theirs, don't damage anything out of spite - that can only incite more violence out of that person.
Seriously, no one ever breaks up on Valentine's Day.
February 15th is a popular day for break ups though.
And she didn't live there, so there wouldn't be much stuff.
I think people might be letting their imagination go on a little bit.
That's how I left my ex. I was blinded by his rage and wanted to believe it will change. But as time went by and what I already lost with this man, I found an opportunity to leave without him knowing. He only found out I left him when he returned home from work. I can only imagine the rage he felt walking into an empty home.
You're right, TheKhanKubla.. and if anybody else is reading this who are in an abusive relationship and/or marriage..please, PLEASE get out and do it without him or her knowing. Never ever confront the person about what you will do. Your counter-reaction will cost you your life.
TheKhanKubla
You are very intuitive and right on. Thank you!
Much more information needs to come forth before any conclusion can be reached and the first one I come to is that Obama had nothing to do with this. If performance enhancing drugs were found in the home, I would want to make sure this wasn't "roid rage". We may never know the answer to that one.
exactly! And if it was "roid rage" or a viagra type of rage,
would it then be a type of accident?
If a drunk man kills his wife, is it pre-meditated murder?
Drugs would not justify or excuse anything, but it
might explain something to a confused public.
The only thing that will come out of this is conjecture on the part of those that "think they know" what happened, and his side of the story.
The side that would answer most of the questions, is gone now. Reeva can't tell her side of the story, or whatever she might have wanted to say otherwise.
We wont ever know what really happened, but that is irrelevant anyway.
Reeva is dead, and we already know that.
What happens next is up to the court system. It wont bring her back, it wont bring justice.
How do you get justice in a situation like this? Many people other than Reeva were hurt in this.
And "Justice" cant change any of that either.
To answer her mother question of Why? I wouldn't know what to tell her.
There are no good answers when something like this happens, only questions that wont be answered to everyone's satisfaction.
It makes me wonder who is hurt more when something like this happens. The one that died, or the ones that live on without them...
@anecdotalbox, for days I've been reading your posts about how this was some sort of tragic "accident". The public isn't "confused" about what happened. You are.
Mrs. Steenkamp, Why my little girl? Because your little was beautiful and intelligent but she was dealing with a big crook. After many fights and argument, she did not learn the lessons. She should have left Oscar Pistorious in the first place. He is an animal with no legs.
He shot her period!! But the media and lawyers will set the legless bastard free!!!!
Stop showing this girls face you effing piece of crap media dogs. You are a pitiful and subhuman bunch of cockroaches the way you feast on this murder story. Curse all of you scums!
Hopefully his conviction will give her family some measure of peace. He will be very hard pressed proving it was an accident.
It has become commonplace in the 21st century that those who are callus make dubmass remarks behind the safety of their keyboard.
God Bless all who suffer from this tragedy . . . how terrible that it occurred!!!!
Did the parents not know that this guy is handicapped legless killer?
Why? Why were the authorities called out on several occasions? Why do beautiful women seem to go for the guys with issues, rather than a guy, like me, who gets overlooked, yet knows how to treat a lady?Why did he feel he needed a gun, I am 54, and never owned a gun. Why do women put up with tempers, and guys with issues who need fixed? As long as we are on this planet there will Always be more questions than Answers! I am sorry for your loss. Why, because i care.
Lots of good questions, but the same can be said about men who stay with women who belittle them and cheat on them. Anyhow, to stay on topic, it's a shame she didn't reveal the domestic violence issues to someone she trusted (a friend, a parent), so they could have assisted her and supported her in getting out and away from this man before the inevitable happened. Unfortunately, she probably never expected things to get to this point, and now, because of her lack of skepticism towards her boyfriend, she is gone.
Skyblue54 The is no logical reason why women go for guys like this... There is just something about the "bad boy" personna that is attractive. Men like this (include guys like Steve McQueen or James Dean) are perceived as being more exciting than the "regular" guys who work 40 hours a week and watch rental movies on the weekend. They are not, by any means, better... just exciting. The challenge of catching and taming the bad boy is irresistable to some. Just like the challenge of the "smokin' hot" female... no matter how low her character, is irresistable to some men... despite the availability of "nice" girls...
Guys that work 40 hours a week do not have millions in endorsements Lisa! You sound like one of the few women in America that is not corrupt! How refreshing!
Whatever the cause or motive she was obviously smart , ambitious and physically beautiful as well in other ways reserved for those who really knew her .
If my most beloved was killed with malice or by accident I would not be able to carry on I hate to admit but is the truth.
Peace to her loved ones.
Young, Rich, Beautiful girlfriend, great future to look forward to. No wonder he was so angry. Sad story. She seemed like a great person. He's deserves to rot in prison.
Sincere condolences to Reeva s family. I hope that his celebrity status does not cause in-justice . It would be just awful if he receives just a slap on the wrist or a small fine. There is no excuse for his actions, he is a murderer and a chronic abuser and coward to do this to that beautiful young woman. He should spend the rest of his pathetic life behind bars and never see daylight again!. His family must be so proud!
If the reports of steroids, needles, a blooded cricket bat and an original gunshot in one room before she fled to the bathroom are true, someone needs to knock his media halo off really fast. He is still being called an Olympic "hero". Sounds like classic roid rage and murderous pursuit through the house. Too bad justice won't be served here; if he's sentenced at all it'll probably be for less than the pathetic 25 year maximum. What a sawed off excuse for a man.
Stumpy is guilty as hell. Why was he crying in court? If he was being falsely accused of murder he would have been shouting out his innocence in court "I thought it was a burglar!" or whatever the truth was. He would go to the media to tell the whole story without even worrying about a lawyer. He was crying because he felt sorry for himself; he realized that he just threw his life away.
Wonder why a guy that can run fast is called a hero? In the end, what's so special about running fast? Unless of course you're running carrying someone out of a burning building.
At this point, it looks like a pretty simple case. He killed her. But before anybody says anything about who did what, maybe you all should know the facts about the case. Hypothetically speaking, he could have killed her in self defense, he could be a lunatic maniac, she could be a lunatic maniac, another person could have shot her....
Who knows? Does anyone who has commented know either of these two people personally? Do you know anything other than what the media has told you about them? If the answer is no, then just sit back, relax, and realize that you probably will never know the truth, because if Oscar killed her, then he will surely be lying through his teeth for the rest of his life, and if he didn't do it, then nobody will believe that he didn't.
When you die, ask God who did it, right after you ask him who killed JFK, if space aliens are real, and if he really created the world in 7 days. You might just be surprised to know the truth, because that's the only place you are going to find it.
Sure hope the OJ jury is not around. If they let him out on bail he may be a run threat.