Oscar Pistorius was the first athlete to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympic games, as a sprinter with two carbon-fiber prosthetic legs. He was convicted of killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day in 2013 at his home in Pretoria. On Wednesday, a cousin of Steenkamp said she did not believe Steenkamp loved Pistorius. File photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI |
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PRETORIA, South Africa, June 15 (UPI) -- The cousin of Reeva Steenkamp, the law graduate and model killed by Oscar Pistorius, said she does not believe her cousin loved the former Olympic sprinter.
Kim Martin testified Wednesday she does not believe the true version of events have been revealed. Pistorius, 29, killed Steenkamp, his girlfriend of three months, in 2013 when he shot at her four times when she was in a locked bathroom. He said he acted in self defense because he believed there was an intruder in his Pretoria home.
Steenkamp was killed on Valentine's Day. Martin said the family finds it difficult without her on Valentine's Day and Christmas.
Steenkamp was struck once in the head. Martin was the last witness for the prosecution at Pistorius' sentencing hearing.
He will likely be sentenced Friday.
"I never heard him apologize ... I don't feel the true version came out. We just wanted the truth," Martin said. When asked about the couple's relationship, Martin said she saw that Steenkamp was excited and fond of Pistorius but that she "couldn't see love."
Pistorius first was convicted of culpable homicide, but South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal in December overturned the conviction and determined it was murder. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison, but the defense will argue the judge can reduce the prison sentence and include time served.
Attorneys have argued that the double amputee was not mentally fit to serve more jail time and called upon a clinical psychologist who said the former Olympian suffers from depression and anxiety.
Pistorius is currently under house arrest at his uncle's mansion.
Pistorius' legs were amputated when he was 11 months old because he was born without calf bones, or fibulas. He was fitted with prosthetics, later became an athlete and gained Olympic fame as a sprinter dubbed "Blade Runner," earning gold in multiple events.
