Steencamp dad doubts Pistorius' story

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PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The father of Oscar Pistorius' slain girlfriend said Saturday he might forgive the South African sprinter for killing his daughter "if he speaks the truth."

On the day after a magistrate granted bail for Pistorius, accused of murder in the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, her father, Barry Steenkamp, said if Pistorius' account of the killing is true, "I can perhaps someday forgive him," the BBC reported.

Pistorius admits he shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, but says he mistook her for an intruder in his home.

"If it didn't happen the way he says it did he must suffer and he will suffer," Barry Steenkamp said.

Before being granted bail Friday, Pistorius had spent eight nights in a Pretoria jail following his Feb. 14 arrest.

In a ruling that took almost 2 hours to deliver, the magistrate, Desmond Nair, said the state had not made its case that Pistorius would flee or that he had a violent character.

Nair set bond at $113,000 and ordered Pistorius to surrender his passport, stay away from his home and report to police twice a week.

Pistorius is staying at his uncle's home in Pretoria.

The 26-year-old athlete made history -- and picked up the nickname "Blade Runner" -- by running on blade-like prosthetic legs.

Pistorius' next hearing is scheduled for June 4.