Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole, 11 years after murdering his ex-girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius has been released from jail today nearly 11 years after killing his ex-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Oscar Pistorius has been released from a South African jail today nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend.

The 37-year-old ex-Paralympian shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

He later stated that he thought she was an intruder trying to burgle his Pretoria house.

Officials confirmed on Friday that Pistorius was “at home” on Friday morning having served just over half of his 13-year sentence.

Pistorius was convicted of murder in 2015 after an appeal court overturned his verdict of culpable homicide.

He has spent about eight and a half years in jail as well as seven months under home arrest.

Oscar Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Picture: AFP / WALDO SWIEGERS

Ther former athelte and double amputee was released under strict parole conditions which will remain in place until his sentence expires in 2029.

He was secretly escorted out of Atteridgeville Correctional Centre away from waiting journalists and taken to his new home, the Daily Mail reports.

The law in South Africa states that all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole once they have served half their total sentence, which for Pistorius was 13 years and 5 months.

In November 2023, a parole board decided he could be freed on January 5, 2024.

Pistorius will be monitored by an official until his sentence expires.

He will need to inform them if he seeks out any job opportunities or moves to a new address.

Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison. Picture: Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images

He will also be required to continue anger management therapy and attend sessions on gender-based violence, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family said in November.

Pistorius is expected to live at the home of his uncle Arnold Pistorius in a wealthy Pretoria suburb, local media reports.

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp four times, in the head, hip and arm. He later claimed that it was only when he broke the bathroom door down that he realised it was his girlfriend.

He claimed he thought she was an intruder. Picture: LUCKY NXUMALO / AFP

Pistorius insisted that he believed Reeva to be an intruder as violent burglaries are common in South Africa.

However, his pleas did not 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 shooting came a year after Pistorius made history by being the first double-amputee to race at Olympic level when he appeared at the London 2012 games.

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.

Model Reeva Steenkamp was 29 when she was shot dead by her boyfriend. Picture: AFP / Ice Models

A familiar face red carpets in South Africa, 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 together in his Pretoria home. It was in this home that her death occurred.

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

Therapy required

The morning ahead of his release, June issued a statement saying that while she accepted the decision of the justice system and conditions of his parole, “the pain is still raw and real”.

“There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back,” she said.

“We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”

Oscar Pistorius will be monitored while on parole until 2029. Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP

Pistorius lost a first bid in March when the board found he had not completed the minimum detention period required to be let out.

The Constitutional Court in October ruled that was a mistake, paving the way for a November hearing that approved his release.

As part of his parole, until the end of his sentence in 2029, Pistorius must undergo therapy for anger and gender-based violence issues.

He will also be banned from consuming alcohol and other substances, required to complete community service and also be home at certain hours of the day.

The conditions “send out a clear message that gender based violence is taken seriously” by the country’s justice system, June Steenkamp said Friday.

The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, June Steenkamp. Picture: Phill Magakoe / AFP