Reeva Steenkamp’s cousin takes the stand again in the sentencing hearing for Oscar day 4

Pistorius, questions are being raised about how the case will end.
Steenkamp’s cousin took the witness stand in the Oscar Pistorius case yesterday to give her a voice and to tell of the heartbreak that her death has wrought on the close-knit family of which Reeva was the centre.

Sobbing and taking deep breaths, Kim Martin, Reeva’s first cousin, told of the dreadful moment she heard on radio that Oscar Pistorius had shot dead his girlfriend.
REEVA’S COUSIN: ‘I need to give her a voice’

Happier times ... Oscar Pistorius and former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Picture: AP Source: AP

“I froze ... and I remember saying to my husband, I hope to God he is cheating on Reeva,” Ms Martin said before emotion overcame her and the court was adjourned for a few moments.
Pistorius himself slumped forward and was comforted by family, his head in his hands.
It was the first time in the long-running case that an intimate picture has been painted of Ms Steenkamp, the young law graduate and model, to whom family was foremost and who did everything for her parents.

Mother of Reeva, June Steenkamp. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Father of Reeva, Barry Steenkamp. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

 

Crying frequently through her evidence, Ms Martin told that she was taking the stand to “give Reeva a voice” and that she herself has had trauma counselling, sees a psychologist and is on medication. Her children too have had therapy and yesterday her daughter was doing a final matriculation examination and that instead of being with her she was in court for Reeva.
‘I knew I had to be here. I had to do this, I had to do this for Reeva. I owe it to her. My daughter said she understands. I know Reeva needs a voice and it is my way of being able to pay her back for what she went through,” Ms Martin said.
She had met Pistorius once, on January 2, 2013, when Ms Steenkamp and the athlete were on holiday in Cape Town and had shared breakfast at a beachfront restaurant, near to where their grandfather’s ashes had been scattered.

A crying Oscar Pistorius, left, is comforted by his brother Carl Pistorius, as his defense lawyer, Barry Roux, right looks on during the third day of sentencing hearings in the high court in Pretoria. Picture: AP Source: AP

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel is expected to question her again and has a total of three witnesses left, raising concerns about when a sentence will be given to the fallen athlete.
Judge Thokozile Masipa is understood to be assigned to other cases next week, which makes the time frame for her to make a decision on Pistorius’s fate very short if she does hand down a sentence this week.
Legal experts are now suggesting she may make Pistorius wait till November before she sentences him.
Pistorus has arrived at court, ready for the fourth day of sentencing hearings.
The case continues.