Oscar Pistorius set to be released from prison in January

Oscar Pistorius, who was jailed for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, is set to be released on parole.

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius competes in the Men's 200m T44 Final athletics event during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. (Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP)

Killer Oscar Pistorius is set to be freed from jail in January, almost 11 years after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door in a murder that would captivate the world.

Ms Steenkamp was a model and aspiring lawyer who had worked as a legal assistant. She had been dating Pistorius for just a few months before her death in February 2013.

The South African Paralympic champion, 37, was granted early release from prison on parole on Friday.

Prison authorities confirmed he would be released on January 5.

Ms Steenkamp’s mother June did not challenge Pistorius’ parole and said she had forgiven him, which was thought to be instrumental in the former athlete’s release.

Oscar Pistorius murdered his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp, when he shot her through a bathroom door. (Photo by LUCKY NXUMALO / AFP)

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, 29, four times through the locked bathroom door of his home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.

She was shot in the head, hip and arm and Pistorius later claimed in court that it was only when he broke the bathroom door down that he realised it was his girlfriend.

Pistorius insisted that he thought an intruder was in the bathroom in a country where crime is rife and burglaries are not uncommon.

However, his pleas didn’t sway the jury and Pistorius – dubbed the “Blade Runner” because of his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs – was sentenced to 13 years and five months.

The former athlete has served over half of his sentence in a prison on the outskirts of Pretoria after he was jailed for the murder in 2016.

Reeva Steenkamp was a model and aspiring lawyer. (AP Photo/Ice Model Management)

Model and aspiring lawyer

Ms Steenkamp was born in 1983 in Cape Town and had been a model from the age of 14. She would later appear in men’s magazine FHM as well as being the face of numerous beauty and jewellery brands in South Africa.

She studied law at university and alongside her modelling career worked as a legal assistant with hopes to be admitted to the bar.

A familiar face on South African red carpets, as her fame grew she also appeared on television and was a contestant on a reality TV show that didn’t broadcast until after her death.

She began dating Pistorius in November 2012 and by February the following year the couple were living in South Africa’s capital of Pretoria. It was in this home that her death occurred.

Oscar Pistorius competes in the Men's 200m T44 Final athletics event during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. (Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP)

Steenkamp’s mother forgives Pistorius

Ms Steenkamp’s mother June reportedly did not oppose parole, the BBC reported, a decision which is thought to have helped his prison release.

She said she had forgiven Pistorius but in a letter submitted to the hearing stated that she did not believe his defence that he thought the person in the toilet was an intruder.

“My dearest child screamed for her life – loud enough for the neighbours to hear her.

“I do not know what gave rise to his choice to shoot through a closed door four times … when I believe, he knew it was Reeva.”

June Steenkamp also said she believed his anger issues had not been resolved in prison.

“Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof. Nobody can claim to have remorse if they are not able to engage fully with the truth,” she wrote.

“If someone does not show remorse, they cannot be considered to be rehabilitated. If they are not rehabilitated, their risk of recidivism is high.”

June Steenkamp said that her daughter’s death had left a “massive hole,” in her life.

She added that any woman who came into contact with Pistorius could potentially be in danger.

Ms Steenkamp’s father Barry died in September with his wife telling the parole board she believed he died from a broken heart after the grief of losing his daughter.

Both Ms Steenkamp’s parents strongly objected to Pistorius’ release ahead of his last bid for freedom in March, but they had no power to block it.

Pistorius at his parole hearing earlier this week. (Photo by Alon Skuy / POOL / AFP)

Pistorius was denied bail earlier this year because he had not completed the minimum detention period for serious criminals, which in South Africa, is half their sentence.

A statement from the court on Friday described Pistorius as a “first time offender with a positive support system”.

He will be given anger therapy management and will also have to remain in the up-market suburb of Waterkloof, in the city of Pretoria, with family while he remains on parole.

South Africa’s Department of Corrections spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said: “Parole does not mean the end of the sentence. It is still part of the sentence. It only means the inmate will complete the sentence outside a correctional facility”.

He will not be permitted to consume alcohol among other restrictions.