As Oscar Pistoriuscontinues to stand trial for the alleged murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, her mother June has said she can forgive him – so long as the truth outs.
'He made a mistake. It’s an enormous mistake and I lost the most precious thing in my life, myself and my husband,' the 67-year-old told NBC's Today programme. 'I’ve lost everything that’s important to me. But, still, I can forgive.'
June added that she hasn't watched any pre-trial footage, as she prefers to learn about the events of the night her daughter was killed through the trial itself: 'I’m not going to give you my personal feelings about what I think. But I’ve got to depend on the justice system. And I’ve got confidence in that.'
This forgiveness will come regardless of whether Oscar, 27, is found guilty or innocent of 29-year-old Reeva's murder, but not because she doesn't think that he did it. It's more because she can't bear to not to. 'It’s actually important to forgive him, for me. Because I don’t want to live with bitterness in my life. We just want the truth. We want the truth of what happened.'
But depsite June's ability to see the bigger picture, she has been angered by the fact Oscar refused to acknowledge her as she took a spot in the Pretoria courtroom. 'He just walked into the courtroom and looked straight ahead. And then he sat down and never looked my way,' she says of the court proccedings so far. 'I wanted him to see me. I'm the mother of Reeva.'
The prosecution is currently claiming that Oscar fired the four shots that killed Reeva, his model girlfriend of three months, through the bathroom door of his house, knowing she was on the other side of it. This would make it a pre-meditated attack. His defence says that he thought whoever was in his bathroom was an intruder, and he shot through the door in self-defence against a presumed burglar.
The trial – which is, somewhat controversially, being broadcast across the world – has already caused controvery. Paddy Power opened a bet on whether Oscar would walk away free, which campaigners said was 'vile'because it was trivialising Reeva's death and ensuring punters could profit from it. And perhaps the pressure is getting to Oscar. While there were reports he grinned on his way out of court on day one, the next day he could be seen breaking down and covering his ears as evidence is given.
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Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.