As Oscar Pistorius’s sentencing for the culpable homicide of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the victim’s cousin has taken the stand to explain to Judge Masipa what Reeva might have been thinking close to the time of her death.
Though we’ve been able to see so much into Pistorius’s psychology – the tendency towards angry episodes, the trigger-happiness which caused him to fire a gun through a sunroof and let one off under a restaurant table – the nature of this case, that Reeva was murdered – means we didn’t get much insight into the way she was feeling.
Of course, there were text messages, ones where she said she was ‘scared’ of Pistorius, but Judge Masipa waved these away ahead of the verdict, saying: ‘Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle’
But we’ve got a feeling that Masipa might be drawn to think of these again ahead of handing down Pistorius’s sentence – which could be anything from a few hours’ community service (that’s what his lawyer wants, because apparently South African prisons aren’t good enough for criminals) to 15 years imprisonment (or so women’s rights groups hope). This is because Reeva’s cousin Kim Martin has taken the stand and given an emotional testimony of what it was like to hang out with Pistorius and Reeva. Joined by a member of the ANC’s Women’s League, Kim spoke of how she met Pistorius once briefly in early January of 2013, little over a month before Pistorius shot and killed her cousin on Valentine's Day 2013.
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Testifying in place of Reeva’s parents because they feared they would ‘lose it’ on the stand, Kim spoke of how she grew up with Reeva, how she was a hardworking, caring and helped support her parents after her dad's racing company fell apart.
There was also great detail about how Reeva’s killing has affected the family. First of all, Kim relayed her response to hearing Oscar’s name on the radio
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At this stage of the testimony, her husband and the prosecution lawyer Gerrie Nel got up to comfort her. Court was then adjourned. When she returned to court to continue, a lot of other people started crying:
Kim detailed the effects on Reeva’s parents, how her mum June has been put on medication to deal with the trauma, how her dad Barry has had numerous strokes. And it’s not only they who have suffered:
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Kim then described that the one time she met Pistorius, she, him and Reeva had gone to a beach in Cape Town to visit where Kim and Reeva’s grandfather’s ashes were scattered. Pistorius was ‘agitated’ during the dinner they went by the beach and went off to use his phone at one point.
Nel then asked for Kim to not be cross-examined today after such an emotional testimony, to which Judge Masipa explained that she hasn’t much time to decide Pistorius’s sentencing:
Today, Nel also rubbished probation officer Annette Vergeer's claims that prison wouldn't be a suitable place for Pistorius to be held, reports The Guardian. He also said that if Pistorius doesn't get a proper sentence, then the public might want to take matters into its own hands.
The trial continues.
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Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.