Five weeks into the Oscar Pistorius case and the clearest thing, apart from the basic fact that Reeva Steenkamp's killing was grisly, tragic and shocking, is that the entire case really does rest on one single question: Is Oscar lying?
He claims that he thought that whoever was locked in his bathroom was an intruder and not then-girlfriend, Reeva, and that he shot at her in self-defence. However, prosecutors are arguing that he shot Reeva purposefully in a rage after an argument, and that the killing was premeditated.
One person trying to read Oscar's behaviour closer than any of us is Reeva's mother, June. 'It was a big thing for me to go to the trial in the first place and face up to what is going on. It’s very traumatic when certain things come up. This is my child – and I must listen to the graphic detail,' she told The Mirror. 'I look at Oscar the whole time, to see how he is coping, how he is behaving. I’m obsessed with looking at him, it’s just instinctive, I can’t explain it.'
June has previously said she can forgive Oscar, so long as the truth outs, but it appears her attitude might be changing. 'I keep thinking, "Let me see how he’s taking this." He has been very dramatic, the vomiting and crying. I think he’s just about keeping himself together. I don’t know whether he’s acting.'
She also said that she wasn't affected by the tearful apology Oscar gave in court. 'It left me unmoved. I knew it was coming. My lawyers had prepared me for it. 'I cried for the first time, yes, but not because he apologised, because of the suffering and agony that my darling daughter went through and because I will never have her again.'
The interview also details how Oscar's sister, Aimee, handed a note saying 'sorry' to June in a bid to get her to 'reach out' to the Pistorius family for support.
However, June doesn't want their support, 'It won’t bring my daughter back. We just want to know the truth.'
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.