Pistorius money offer to Steenkamp family rejected
Oscar Pistorius offered 375,000 South African rand (€26,785) to the family of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after he killed her, but they rejected it because they did not want “blood money”, the double-amputee athlete’s sentencing hearing has been told.
Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel also referred to separate monthly payments of 6,000 rand (€428.63) that Pistorius apparently made to Ms Steenkamp’s parents after they asked for help. Mr Nel said those payments would be returned in full.
The revelations emerged while Mr Nel was cross-examining a social worker over what Pistorius’ punishment should be for shooting his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 2013.
Annette Vergeer told the court in Pretoria that the Olympic and Paralympic runner should be placed under house arrest, rather than sent to prison, after he was found guilty of culpable homicide.
Ms Vergeer, one of four witnesses called by the defence, said South African jails are violent and overcrowded, and that the double amputee would be under duress because of his disability and fragile mental state resulting from the night he fired four times through a toilet door in his home, killing Ms Steenkamp.
Pistorius claimed he mistook her for an intruder, and denied prosecution assertions that he shot her during an argument.
Ms Vergeer also said that Pistorius – who in 2012 became the first amputee athlete to run at the Olympics – has the potential to be a productive member of society again.
A sentence of house arrest and work at a school for disabled children would be more appropriate, she said.
Prison “will not assist him, but will break him as a person,” she said.
Mr Nel challenged Ms Vergeer, saying her knowledge of the South African prison system was limited and out of date. He also asked why she did not mention in her report on Pistorius that she knew the family of the woman he killed had turned down money.
Outside the courtroom, a lawyer for Ms Steenkamp’s parents said they had asked him to contact Pistorius’ legal team weeks after the shooting because they were struggling financially.
Pistorius offered them monthly payments and asked for them to be kept confidential, the Steenkamps’ lawyer Dup de Bruyn said.
Ms Steenkamp’s mother June referred to the other offer of 375,000 rand (€26,785) that the family rejected as “blood money”, and asked prosecutor Mr Nel to call it that in court, Mr de Bruyn said.
“The words ’blood money’ are her words,” the lawyer added.
Judge Thokozile Masipa found Pistorius, 27, not guilty of murder last month. She concluded he had acted hastily and with excessive force, but did not intend to kill Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model.
The judge has wide latitude when deciding on a sentence. Pistorius could receive a fine and a suspended jail term or up to 15 years in prison.
Ms Vergeer and another social worker recommended that Pistorius be given a three-year correctional supervision sentence, which would place him under house arrest for periods and require him to carry out community service.
Prosecutors insist that such a sentence would be inappropriate and say Pistorius should be sent to prison, citing the level of negligence he showed when he fired his 9mm pistol without checking who was behind the door.
Family members of Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp attended the second day of the trial’s sentencing hearing, which is expected to last around a week.
