This article is an expanded and updated analysis of the death of Reeva Steenkamp. An earlier post explored initial questions surrounding the case; this version examines the timeline and contradictions in greater detail.
⚠️ Content Warning
This article discusses the real-world killing of Reeva Steenkamp and contains references to intimate partner violence, gun violence, and fatal injury. Some details may be distressing, particularly for readers affected by relationship trauma or abuse.
Reader discretion is advised.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or feels unsafe in a relationship, help is available. In the United States, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or via thehotline.org. If you are outside the U.S., please seek local support resources in your country.
Who Reeva Steenkamp Was
Reeva Steenkamp was born on August 19, 1983, to Barry Steenkamp and June Marshall (formerly Cowburn). She was a South African model, law graduate, and paralegal who aspired to become a lawyer.
Reeva studied law at the University of Port Elizabeth, graduating in 2005. She later worked as a paralegal and planned to apply to the bar. Alongside her professional ambitions, she used her public platform to speak out against violence toward women.
As a child, Reeva suffered a severe horseback riding accident that broke her back. After extensive rehabilitation, she relearned how to walk — an experience that shaped her resilience and determination.
The Relationship
Reeva met Oscar Pistorius in November 2012 during a lunch at a car racing track. Their relationship moved quickly, but it was not without tension.
Three weeks before her death, Reeva sent Pistorius a text message stating that she was sometimes afraid of him and that he could “snap” at her.
That message would later take on devastating weight.
The Night of February 13–14, 2013
On the evening of February 13, 2013, Reeva — 29 years old — spoke with her mother on the phone while driving to Pistorius’s home.
She would not survive the night.
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day, Pistorius claimed he awoke to a noise coming from the bathroom. He later said he panicked, believing there was an intruder in the house. According to his account, the room was pitch-dark, yet he was able to locate his firearm from beneath the bed.
He did not wake Reeva.
He did not speak to her.
He did not turn on a light.
Instead, he moved toward the perceived danger.
Pistorius stated that he shouted for Reeva to call the police and then fired four shots through the locked bathroom door.
This account raises unavoidable questions.
If he believed an intruder was present, what caused him to stop after four shots?
Why only four?
What made him believe the threat had ended?
What Was Found Behind the Door
The person in the bathroom was Reeva.
She had taken her cellphone with her.
She was shot:
through the right hip
through the elbow
grazed on the little finger of her left hand
and fatally in the right temple
The first bullet struck her hip — an injury that would almost certainly have caused immediate pain and a scream.
Why didn’t the shooting stop when a woman screamed?
Neighbors later reported hearing a woman scream, followed by gunshots, then more screaming, and then additional gunshots.
Pistorius stated that after firing, he returned to the bedroom and only then realized Reeva was not in bed. He said he put on his prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom, and attempted to break down the door.
The bathroom door was locked.
Why was the bathroom door locked?
Aftermath and Sentencing
Emergency services were called, but Reeva had already died.
In September 2014, Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide (manslaughter) and sentenced to five years in prison, serving approximately one year.
On December 3, 2015, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal overturned that conviction and instead found Pistorius guilty of murder.
In July 2016, he was sentenced to six years in prison — despite South Africa’s statutory minimum sentence of 15 years for murder. Following a state appeal, his sentence was increased to 13 years and five months.
Why This Case Still Matters
Reeva Steenkamp spoke publicly about violence against women.
She died behind a locked bathroom door.
The unanswered questions surrounding her final moments remain deeply unsettling:
Why she was in the bathroom
Who she may have been trying to contact
And why warning signs she herself described were not taken seriously until it was too late
This case is not only about what happened in a bathroom — it is about how fear, control, and violence can escalate behind closed doors.
Related Reading:
For the original post that raised the initial questions surrounding this case, you can read it here:
👉 Darkmatter: Model and Law Student Shot and Killed in Her Boyfriend's Bathroom.
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