The night Reeva died

Only Oscar and Reeva know what really happened the night she was killed. Since we cannot ask her, we have to rely on Oscar’s word.  I read his affidavit and although there are many things that make sense, there are just as many things in his story that I find difficult to believe.

If he was so safety conscious, why would he leave the sliding door open, but then be struck by fear when he sees the open bathroom window?

If you hear a noise coming from a bathroom in the middle of the night, would your first assumption not be that it is your partner using it? I know I have woken up many times hearing noises in the bathroom.

If I hear a strange noise in the house, I first verify the whereabouts of my partner to make sure it is not him making the noise and then to make sure he is safe. (It has happened many times in our house).

How did he find the gun under the bed in pitch darkness? If it was light enough for him to find the gun, surely he could see Reeva was not in the bed anymore or at least use the time while finding the gun to make sure she was still there and safe. (This is the most difficult part for me to believe).

Why shoot 4 times?

Why shoot through a locked door?

All these questions mean nothing though, because he was found not guilty of murder. I understand why judge Masipa could not find him guilty: The prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to murder her. I, however, still suspect that he did intend to murder her.

The other factors that I take into account when I ponder his situation are the numerous times he engaged in violent, narcissistic and reckless behaviour. This is a man who considers himself above-the-law if you look at his history of recklessly endangering the lives of others through speeding, negligent gun handling, fights and violent threats. Even if his defence team could justify every single altercation and deed, it does not change the course of events. All the good reasons in the world do not make his volatile testosterone driven behaviour acceptable. It is a sad reflection on the morals of a society that finds the lawless behaviour of celebrities permissible.

Let us for a moment believe his story. He was fear stricken, unable to think clearly, driven to murder by a state of panic. This introduces a new set of questions:  Why did he not shoot a warning shot? Why did he not call the complex security first? Why be afraid to turn on the light (When I stayed on my own and heard a noise the first thing I would do, was to turn on the light)? Once again, why shoot 4 shots and why shoot through a locked door?

His defence team did a pretty good job of answering to all the allegations, sowing enough seeds of doubt to acquit him of murder, but I am not so sure that I feel completely satisfied and content with their explanations.

Anyway, as we wait for the sentence to be delivered so that we can be duly impressed with the judicial system or angered at its failure to deliver justice, we have to think about the victim of this crime. Reeva Steenkamp. Whereas Oscar will have another day to live and make better choices, Reeva won’t.  She will be forever remembered as the girl Oscar killed on Valentine’s day and that to me is the saddest part of all: that her life is reduced to the sensational story of her murder.