Oscar Pistorius & Reeva Steenkamp's Father Break Down In Court

Trembling with emotion, Barry Steenkamp took to the witness stand to testify in the athlete's sentencing hearing after he was convicted of murdering his daughter. It is the first time either of her parents have given evidence in the three-year-long case. Fighting back tears, Mr Steenkamp told how their lives had changed forever when Miss Steenkamp (inset with Pistorius) was gunned down by Pistorius in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013. As he gave his emotional testimony, Pistorius couldn't bear to look and buried his head in his hands in the dock. The Paralympian returned to court today after being described as a 'broken' man who should be hospitalised rather than jailed.

The retired racehorse trainer broke down repeatedly in the witness box as he laid bare the devastating impact his only daughter's death had had on his life. 

'I think of her every day of my life, morning, noon and night, in the early hours of the morning, I think of her all the time,' he told a sentencing hearing that will decide what punishment Pistorius will face for killing the 29-year-old.

He described his wife June's devastation, adding that 'people say that June is 'stone-faced' but I know that June grieves like I do all the time.

She is probably a bit stronger, I hear her crying at night time and talking to Reeva and of course she feels just as much as I do. '


Mr Roux: 'We understand, we are really very very sorry, whatever we do cant bring her back and whatever I say cant bring her back.'

During the lunch adjournment, Pistorius was seen examining paperwork with his lawyers prompting speculation that he had prepared a statement to be read to the open court.

Pistorius locked eyes with his victim's father for the first time across court as the older man told him that although he had spurned his requests to meet, he would be prepared to hear directly from him one day.

And although he and his wife, June, 69, had forgiven the killer, they were convinced he should to lose his freedom.

A clutch of female supporters, who had queued for hours for a seat in the court's public gallery, gasped audibly and began to sob and pray as Mr Steenkamp told Judge Thokozile Masipa that he wanted to see his daughter's killer back behind bars.

'Not the maximum sentence,' he told her. 'But Oscar has to pay for what he did.'

Answering questions from prosecutor Gerrie Nel, Mr Steenkamp wept as he re-lived the terrible morning he heard his daughter had died.

'I got a phone call from June and I couldn't really understand what she was so upset about, screaming and shouting.

'She said 'come home immediately, just come home'.

'On my way home, I tried to fathom what she had tried to tell me….that's when I started to panic,' he said, his voice barely audible between sobs.

'The more I drove the more I realised that Reeva had been killed.'

The packed court was hushed for the dramatic evidence.