Reeva Steenkamp's father shows his anguish as Oscar Pistorius granted bail and released pending murder trial

OSCAR Pistorius will suffer for any lies he has told about the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, her father says.

OSCAR Pistorius will suffer for any lies he has told about the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, her grieving father says.

"There are only two people who really know what happened and it's Oscar Pistorius and the Lord," Barry Steenkamp told Johannesburg newspaper Beeld in his first extended interview.

"It does not matter how much money he has and how good his legal team is, he must live with his conscience if he allows his legal team to lie on his behalf.

"But if he speaks the truth, I can perhaps some day forgive him.

"If it did not happen as he has told it, he must suffer.

"And he will suffer ... only he knows." 

Ms Steenkamp's mother, June, said her daughter had been robbed of her chance at her own family and marriage.

"I just want to finish mourning for my daughter. I will have to get used to life without her," an emotional Mrs Steenkamp said.

"Now everything is taken away from her in such a violent way. We just want to know the truth."

Mr Steenkamp, a well-known horse trainer, said he had never met Pistorius but his daughter had been in a relationship with him since last November and had never expressed any fear or unhappiness about him.

Pistorius's uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said in a statement that they were 'extremely thankful that Oscar is now home.'

"What happened has changed our lives irrevocably," he said.

The Pistorius family took steps to lower its profile on social media after someone hacked into the Twitter account of his older brother, Carl, family spokesman Janine Hills said.

"Carl did not tweet this afternoon, out of respect to Oscar and Reeva," Hills said in a statement. "We are busy cancelling all the social media sites for both Oscar's brother and his sister."

Mike Steenkamp, Reeva's uncle, told The Associated Press that the family of the double-amputee athlete initially did not send condolences or try to contact the bereaved parents, but had since sought to reach out in what he described as a poorly timed way. After Pistorius was released on bail in what amounted to a victory for the defense, Arnold Pistorius said the athlete's family was relieved but also in mourning "with the family" of Reeva Steenkamp.

"Everybody wants to jump up with joy," Mike Steenkamp said, speculating on the mood of Pistorius' family after the judge's decision. "I think it was just done in the wrong context, completely."

A South African newspaper, the Afrikaans-language Beeld, quoted the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, law school graduate and participant in a television reality show, as saying the family had received a bouquet of flowers and a card from the Pistorius family.

"Yes, but what does it mean? Nothing," June Steenkamp said, according to the Saturday edition of Beeld. She also said Pistorius' family, including sister Aimee, a somber presence on the bench behind the Olympian during his court hearings in the past week, must be "devastated" and had done nothing wrong.

"They are not to blame," June Steenkamp said. According to Beeld, she said she had hoped to plan a wedding for her daughter one day.

Pistorius spent his first day of freedom surrounded by family and minders after being bailed over a charge of murdering Reeva in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

Pistorius has not returned to his luxury home, where the shooting took place, but met family. 

A source close to the group said he may also resume training to keep his body and mind fit in the lead-up to his high-profile trial this year.

"The family just want time together," the source said.

"They haven't thought about anything except being together."

Pistorius is prevented from leaving the country as part of his bail conditions - with a $110,000 bond, the surrender of his passport, twice-weekly reporting to Pretoria's Brooklyn police and banned from taking "any prohibited substance and or alcohol".

The 26-year-old sprinter - a national hero for becoming the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics - faces a potential life sentence if found guilty of the premeditated murder of the model and law graduate, 29, whom he shot three times through the locked door of his bathroom.

Pistorius has claimed he unwittingly killed Ms Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder. 

Following a drama-packed, four-day bail hearing in Pretoria Magistrates' Court, magistrate Desmond Nair overnight Friday - in a two-hour bail judgment - ruled Pistorius was not a flight risk or a safety threat.

Prosecutors had opposed bail, saying he shot Ms Steenkamp after the couple argued in the pre-dawn hours of February 14.

Pistorius's supporters let out cries of "yes!" as Mr Nair awarded bail, while the accused stood in the court dock, at times motionless or weeping.

The Pistorius family, including brother Carl and sister Aimee, prayed in the courtroom and later expressed sympathies to Ms Steenkamp's family. 

"We are relieved of the fact that Oscar got bail today. But at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva with her family," the runner's uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said.

"As the family, we know Oscar's version of what happened that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case."

After more than a week behind bars, Pistorius was ordered to return to court for a procedural hearing on June 4 before he left court in a silver sports utility vehicle flanked by photographers and cameramen on motorbikes.

But despite Pistorius being granted bail, his lawyer, Barry Roux, conceded his client might face jail for the killing even if it was mistaken because Pistorius could not argue self defence.