RIP: Marc Batchelor’s brother – and Reeva Steenkamp documentary producer – dies

Acclaimed filmmaker Warren Batcher – the brother of slain soccer star Marc Batchelor – will be remembered in a memorial service on Friday, 3 March, after his death last month.

Warren was recently credited with producing the three-part M-Net documentary My Name Is Reeva, which told the story of the model’s murder at the hands of her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius.

Ironically, Marc, who was also murdered in 2019, and Pistorius were known to have been at loggerheads after a heated altercation in 2012.

Warren died on 14 February 2022 – which marked the ten-year anniversary of Reeva’s death.

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REEVA STEENKAMP’S PARENTS MOURN DOCCIE PRODUCER

Warren Batchelor’s death was announced in a Facebook post on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation page.

ALSO READ: Pistorius parole: Police fear ‘hitmen’ may avenge Reeva’s murder

In the comments section, followers of the page noted the coincidence in the timing of Warren’s death.

Liesl Schoonraad Gregory: “Your passion for Reeva was so beautiful to see, and the fact that you passed exactly ten years after her to the day proves how special your connection is”

Pretty Health Team: “What a sad coincident that he passed away on the same day.”

Ana Barrote Rightford: “So sad and such a coincidence!”

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On his own Facebook page, friends of Warren revealed that he had died of a suspected heart attack.

Warren will be remembered in a memorial service on Friday, 3 March, at the Fourways Memorial Park in Johannesburg.

MARC BATCHELOR VS OSCAR PISTORIUS

While Warren Batchelor was involved in telling Reeva Steenkamp’s story, “in her words,” his own brother Marc, a former Bafana Bafana player, also had a close friendship with the late model.

The late soccer star – who was killed by masked hitmen in 2019 – told media how Oscar threatened to “break both his legs” after a heated altercation in 2012. According to IOL, this was after Oscar discovered his ex Samantha Taylor began dating Batchelor’s friend Quinton van den  Bergh. He also accused Oscar of “controlling” the women in his life, including Reeva Steenkamp.

ALSO READ: ‘Forgave him, take it back’: Reeva’s parents reject Pistorius parole

However, Marc Batchelor was no angel either. Considered the “bad boy” of SA soccer, Marc was fired as a Supersport presenter after hanging up his boots following a series of nightclub brawls.

According to TshisaLive, Marc was linked to several underworld figures, including self-confessed killer Mikey Schultz.

ALSO READ: ‘Trustworthy, positive’: Why officials claim Oscar Pistorius deserves parole

WARREN BATCHELOR: ‘REEVA DOCCIE HAVE HER A VOICE’

In interviews before My Name of Reeva’s release, Warren Batchelor revealed that the documentary took seven years to create. The three-part series was released in Women’s Month – August – which was also Reeva’s birthday month.

Speaking to EWN, he said: “Finally, Reeva has a voice. And the reason they [Reeva’s parents]  wanted to do this was because they wanted to give a voice to all the victims who don’t have a voice, who don’t have a name…

ALSO READ: ‘I don’t want to see him’: Reeva’s mom refused Oscar Pistorius parole meet

Explaining why he had given the doccie the title “My Name Is Reeva,” Warren added: “When the murder happened, she was called the girlfriend, the model, the deceased, and she never had a name.”

He added: “So many thousands of women that have died at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect them and love them don’t have a voice, and the fact that this is so high-profile means that we can give a voice to all those victims that have died.”