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Reeva Steenkamp's mother: Pistorius should 'pay'

Reeva Steenkamp's mother says she does not expect Oscar Pistorius to see justice in his killing of her daughter.

By Gabrielle Levy
Oscar Pistorius. UPI/Terry Schmitt
Oscar Pistorius. UPI/Terry Schmitt | License Photo

PRETORIA, South Africa, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The mother of slain model Reeva Steenkamp said she did not expect to see her daughter's killer face real justice.

Oscar Pistorius, the star South African Olympian nicknamed "Blade Runner" for his trademark prosthetics, shot and killed Steenkamp early on Valentine's Day 2013. He claimed he thought she was an intruder, and his trial judge bought his story.

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Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa said the state failed to prove Pistorius committed premeditated murder, but found him guilty of culpable homicide, a charge similar to manslaughter.

While Pistorius won't be sentenced until next month, and still faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, Steenkamp's mother says she thinks he will escape appropriate punishment.

June Steenkamp said she was "very dissapointed, deeply sad and extremely angry" with the outcome of the six-month-long trial.

"In my opinion it means that Oscar's not going to pay properly for killing our lovely daughter," she said.

"At the end of it all, I don't feel that justice has been done," she told Hello! Magazine. "I understand that the judge could only deal with the facts that were placed before her, but my view is that the verdict is not the right one, it doesn't sit well with me at all."

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June Steenkamp attended nearly every day of the trial, but said she may not attend the October 13 sentencing hearing.

"I don't wish to set foot in a courtroom ever again," she said. "All we have ever wanted is the truth. We don't necessarily want him to go to jail. Nothing will change. Reeva is not coming back."

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