Reunited with Reeva: Did Barry Steenkamp die of a broken heart?
After suffering two strokes during her murder trial and grappling with grief, many believe Reeva Steenkamp’s dad died a ‘broken’ man.
Barry, the 80-year-old father of the late model Reeva Steenkamp, has tragically died. And many South Africans think it was over a broken heart after she was murdered a decade ago by Oscar Pistorius.
According to a foundation, the Port Elizabeth man died in his sleep on Thursday, 14 September.
His death comes just one month after both he and his wife, June, celebrated what would have been Reeva’s 40th birthday.
REEVA STEENKAMP FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES BARRY’S DEATH
In a statement, the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation shared: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden and peaceful passing of Barry Steenkamp in his sleep on the early evening of 14 September 2023.
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“Barry was a blessing to many, and he will be remembered with love and great fondness. We find solace in the knowledge that he is now with his beloved Reeva”.
In May, Barry celebrated his milestone 80th birthday. Just three months later, he and his wife June would remember Reeva on what would’ve been her 40th birthday.
But many remarked how the image of the elderly couple was anything but celebratory.
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“This has to be one of the saddest photos ever. She should be sitting next to them”, said one Instagram follower. Another added: “Very sad indeed”.
HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR DOTING DAD
According to reports, Barry Steenkamp had been in particularly poor health after Reeva was shot and killed by Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
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During Pistorius’s murder trial (then on charges of culpable homicide), Barry suffered two strokes, reported TimesLive.
In the M-Net documentary, My Name Is Reeva, June Steenkamp revealed that Barry had not been the same since their daughter’s passing. She also claimed that their marriage took strain following the tragic event.
Following his passing, many South Africans think Barry could have possibly died of a broken heart.
@MarleneWarner: “ I know Barry never ever even got close to being able to live with what happened. I’ve not ever seen a man that broken.”
@catedonaldson11: “All the stress and heartache this poor man has been through.”
@renegade_rachel: “He never stopped searching for his beloved Reeva.”
@BenjaminRafaelBaravia: “Imagine going through all that in the later stages of your life.”
MEETING OSCAR PISTORIUS FACE TO FACE
In the documentary My Name Is Reeva, Barry Steenkamp spoke of his meeting with Oscar Pistorius during the Department of Correctional Service’s Victim Offender Dialogue programme.
However, the meeting at the Qheberha correctional facility where Pistorius is being detained did not meet the standards that Reeva’s grieving dad expected.
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In the doccie, he said, “You arrive there thinking you’re going to say this and that, but it doesn’t work out that way. It’s just a sad, sad thing.
“I asked him certain questions…and I expected different answers. He gave me his truth, but I didn’t get my truth”.
Are you watching the final of #MyNameIsReeva now on #MNet101? https://t.co/RZ5fL8fnNK pic.twitter.com/PEoGGpOwaA
— M-Net (@MNet) September 8, 2022
Accompanying Barry during the meeting was the Steenkamp family attorney, Tania Koen.
She said of the experience: “The feeling in the room was an overwhelming sense of grief and sadness because, on the one hand, we had Barry, the father of Reeva, who had to face his daughter’s killer. And on the other hand, Oscar was obviously sad, full of remorse and regret, and also very tearful”.
However, she quickly added of Pistorius: “I don’t believe Oscar’s version, and I don’t believe he told Barry the truth.”