"Oscar is a liar, he shot my sister in a fit of rage': Reeva's sister says

In an exclusive interview with UK Daily Mail today, Reeva’s sister Simone (pictured left) says they are in no doubt that Pistorius is a liar.

"He is trying to convince the court that they were really close and that he cared for her. It’s not true. He is a disgusting liar. At the start of the trial, my heart stopped as he walked past, ignoring us. I like to think his heart stopped too. He knew we were there but he almost lost his balance and fell over when he saw us.

‘Then he sat in the dock, smirking. He killed my sister and yet he still seems to be enjoying his celebrity status. During the adjournments he marched around as if he was still a star while my mother and I just wanted to hide away. I don’t understand how anyone could commit that act – kill someone – and behave like that.’

 To find an outlet for their feelings, the Steenkamps plan to open a shelter in Reeva’s memory for women who are victims of domestic abuse. But before that, there are  three more weeks of the trial to endure. 


Simone, 48, who has given up her career and life in England to live with her parents in South Africa since Reeva’s death, says the whole family tried to offer forgiveness to Pistorius before the trial began, but that her feelings had changed over the past three weeks. 

"It has been such an eye-opener for me,’ she says. ‘Until I walked into the courtroom it hadn’t really hit me that Reeva was dead, that I’ll never again see her coming through the door, bouncing around, being in charge of us all like she used to be.

'Sitting there beside my mother in that formal setting, with the whole proceedings aimed at finding the truth about the night she died, I finally took it in and it almost destroyed me. I couldn’t go there for more than a day. 

‘I wouldn’t be able to control my feelings. I would be sobbing, distraught and angry listening to his continuing lies.’

"As the court adjourned for the weekend, the prosecutor Gerrie Nel was in the middle of questioning Pistorius about whether Reeva screamed when he was shooting her. I admire his persistent questioning and he is right to focus on that point,’

"I believe that she was screaming and that he knew it was her he was shooting. I believe they were arguing and that he is an insecure, unpredictable man who might have been thinking he couldn’t live without her if the row ended badly.