- The mother of Reeva Steenkamp speaks out on the anniversary of her death
- The model was shot dead by Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day five years ago
- June Steenkamp revealed the agony of losing her daughter never goes away
- She said February 14 will ‘always signify the anniversary of her death’
Five years ago on Valentine’s Day, South African model Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by her sprinter boyfriend Oscar Pistorius.
And for her mother June Steenkamp, February 14 is a date too painful to bear.
Speaking to Australian publication Mamamia on the anniversary of her death, Mrs Steenkamp revealed the agony of losing her daughter never goes away.
June Steenkamp (left) has revealed the agony of losing her daughter Reeva (right) never goes away after she was shot dead on Valentine’s Day in 2013
The 29-year-old model was shot dead by her sprinter boyfriend Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day in 2013 (pictured together)
‘I sometimes wonder how Barry and I have survived to tell the tale,’ she said.
‘When you have a child who is so close to you and who gives you so much love and attention, it’s so difficult to carry on and live without them. It almost seems impossible.’
Mrs Steenkamp said her daughter loved ‘creating a sense’ of celebrating special occasions where she got to choose presents and cards for loved ones.
But for her family and friends, the distraught mother said February 14 will ‘always signify the anniversary of her death’.
‘A day of romantic froth for others will always be a dark day accompanied with pain and suffering,’ Mrs Steenkamp said.
The mother (pictured left with her husband Barry and right) set up the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation in her daughter’s memory to raise awareness of domestic violence
The 29-year-old woman was gunned down through a bathroom door by Pistorius at his home after claiming to have mistaken her for an intruder
The 29-year-old woman was gunned down through a bathroom door by Pistorius at his home after claiming to have mistaken her for an intruder.
On the day she was murdered in 2013, Reeva had planned to deliver a speech about domestic violence at a high school.
Following her death, the mother set up the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation in her daughter’s memory to raise awareness of abuse against women and children.
Pistorius was initially sentenced to six years when he was first convicted. However this was slammed as ‘shockingly lenient’ by the South African Appeal Court.
The Paralympian’s murder sentence was extended to 13 years and five months.
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