Reeva Steenkamp was prepared to leave Oscar Pistorius on the night that he shot and killed her.
That was the latest startling claim made by June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, in her new book, "Reeva: A Mother's Story," as reported by the Sidney Morning Herald on Sunday.
Reeva Steenkamp's mother said her daughter never slept with Oscar Pistorius
"Her clothes were packed. There is no doubt in our minds: she had decided to leave Oscar that night," June Steenkamp, 68, wrote in her new book, as appeared in Britain's "The Times," the Sydney Morning Herald added.
In the book, June Steenkamp said she was "shocked" that the double-amputee Olympic sprinter was found guilty only of culpable homicide.
If what June Steenkamp says of her daughter wanting to leave Pistorius is true, that adds another element of doubt to Pistorius' defense - though that does not matter, anymore.
Last month, Judge Thokozile Masipa declared Pistorius innocent of premeditated murder but found him guilty of culpable homicide - the equivalent of manslaughter. Masipa then sentenced Pistorius to five years in prison, but sources say he could serve as little as 10 months of that sentence for good behavior.
Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a bathroom door near their bedroom in their Pretoria, South Africa home in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day 2013. Pistorius has maintained that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder he believed had broken into their home.
It has been revealed that Steenkamp flushed the toilet just prior to Pistorius firing the gun.
The book is scheduled to be published Nov. 6. Proceeds from the book, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, will help ease the Steenkamp family's financial troubles and help start a fundraising campaign to set up a foundation for abused women in South Africa, according to Reeva Steenkamp's English-born mother.
"I think she would have wanted us to have some money," June Steenkamp said.
June and her husband, 71-year-old Barry, accepted monthly payments from Pistorius from March, 2013 to September, 2014, it was revealed in Pistorius' sentencing hearing. The Steenkamps have said they intend to repay Pistorius all the money and have agreed not to bring a civil suit against the disabled athlete.
If Reeva Steenkamp was planning to leave Oscar Pistorius, would that affect your opinion of his defense? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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