The terrifying night he killed his girlfriend and his days in jail as a refugee in the Bible
Reeva Steenkamp was murdered on Valentine's Day. Whoever claimed to love her pierced her body with several shots. The criminal was none other than the famous South African Paralympic athlete, whose records had shocked the world. But it would be his violence and his anger that would end up forging his final image: that of the femicide who lived behind that young man with a chest full of gold medals.
The day Omar Leonard Carl Pistorius was born, November 22, 1986, in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, his parents knew immediately that what was to come would not be easy. The precious baby with a perfect face and body had been born without a fundamental leg bone: the fibula. He suffered from a congenital deficiency called fibular hemimelia.
Within the dramatic family scenario, Oscar was lucky to have been born into a home with money to pay for what he would need to be able to walk.
The hardest part, for Sheila and Henke Pistorius, was deciding which treatment to choose for their son. They consulted eleven medical specialists. There were very different opinions. It was the surgeon Gerry Versfeld who convinced them that a double amputation was best so that he could, in the future, walk with a prosthesis. The surgeon would confess years later that, even though the decision had been the right one, it was "heartbreaking to cut off the limbs of such a small child."
At 11 months he underwent drastic surgery: both legs were amputated below the knees. Specialist Trevor Brauckman would later build his first artificial legs.
Unfortunately, the economic situation of his father changed and this determined the end of the marriage: in 1992 they divorced. Henke gave them almost no money, and Sheila had to move to a smaller house in a more dangerous neighborhood with her three children (Carl, Oscar, and Aimee). Several times they entered to rob them. So she bought a gun and put it under her pillow every night.
Family vicissitudes and his disability did not prevent Oscar from leading the life of an average child. With his brother Car,l he did everything a boy does: he climbed trees, he rode his bike, he played soccer. His mother encouraged him and told him he should never feel "inferior." She made it. His blistered stumps and the difficulties of his prosthesis never stopped him. At Pretoria Boys, a school with almost military conduct, Oscar demanded more of himself than anyone else. But Sheila fell into alcoholism, which caused complications in her kidneys. He died at the age of 43, on March 6, 2002, when he was 15. Sheila did not see him succeed. But she, too, would not see him imprisoned.
Oscar Pistorius Youth, effort, and, triumphs
Oscar Pistorius completed his higher studies in Commerce at the University of Pretoria. His ability to overcome permanently surprised everyone. He did the sports he wanted: soccer, rugby, water polo, tennis...
In 2003, he broke his knee playing rugby union. But he kept going. He worked for nine months with the sprinting coach Ampie Louw and, in 2004, he began to compete with the famous J-shaped carbon fiber transtibial prostheses. They began to call him Blade Runner. His goals were the carrot that moved him day by day.
At the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, he won the gold medal in the 200 meters and the bronze in the 100. Two years later he was the world champion in the Netherlands, in the 100, 200, and 400 meters.
But what he wanted most in life was to compete with able-bodied athletes. He did it in 2007 but finished second in the 400m. He left a bitter taste. The other athletes protested. Many said that his prosthesis gave him advantages. In 2008, the International Federation (IAAF) considered, after analyzing his prosthetic legs, that they effectively gave him an edge over the rest. Pistorius, feisty as always, appealed the measure and resorted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the last legal instance in sport. They failed in his favor.
Life of Oscar Pistorius in prison - Bible and garden
Murasiet Mentoot, regional judicial inspection manager, told that his status as a famous prisoner meant that Pistorius was housed in the hospital wing of the prison: “It was the only viable option. If you are a high-profile prisoner you are at risk, the other inmates can take you as a target”.
Thus, when he complained because he wanted a bathroom, the correctional services made one for him in his cell (common prisoners are usually overcrowded with 40 sharing a toilet). When he complained about his bed, they changed it for him. They also improved, at his request, the gym and let him cook the raw products for him: he was afraid of intoxication.
According to his father, Henke Pistorius - he told The Times UK this year - behind bars at Atteridgeville correctional facility, his son has become a spiritual leader for the other prisoners. He has a new challenge. He studies biblical texts and meets with his prison prayer group once a week. He interprets Bible verses and explains the teachings to them.
His father insists that he is a good influence. He also recounted that he even has a small piece of land where he grows vegetables. He assures that this vegetable garden is not just any vegetable garden: “Oscar is an artist. He doesn't make square blocks to farm. He designed a face in the garden! His hair is one type of vegetable and his ears and mouth are another. It's unbelievable what he accomplished!” he commented.
But Reeva's mother, June Steenkamp, prefers not to listen to these stories. She told Rekord media a few months ago that her family took the habit of visiting the Port Elizabeth beach annually to remember the day of her murder. His ashes are scattered on that beach that she loved so much.
On February 10, 2013, Reeva Steenkamp last posted on Instagram. It was about the case of a 17-year-old girl who had just been murdered. What she wrote on her social network is another chilling detail of this story: “This morning I woke up in a happy and safe house.
Four days later, she wouldn't get up anymore. Oscar Pistorius had murdered her in cold blood.
