Many recall the 38-year-old’s global fame when he became the first double-amputee to participate in the Olympics during the summer of 2012.
Just six months later, in 2013, he shot Steenkamp multiple times through a bathroom door, claiming he mistook her for an intruder. Despite his defense, Pistorius was convicted of murder in 2015 after an appeal overturned his initial culpable homicide conviction.
Under South African law, inmates can be considered for parole after serving half their sentence, allowing Pistorius to be released earlier this year after serving 13 years and five months.
However, his release includes stringent conditions. He must adhere to rules such as abstaining from alcohol, avoiding media contact, and complying with a curfew until his sentence concludes in 2029.
Recent reports suggest he is dating 33-year-old Rita Greyling, a multi-millionaire farmer’s daughter, and they have reportedly been together for three months.
Simone Cowburn, Steenkamp’s sister, shared with the Daily Mail her emotional reaction to the news of Pistorius’s new relationship.
She commented: “I am just looking at this woman’s photographs and I have goosebumps and shivers going down my spine at this moment.
“What shocks me is that she looks so much like my Reeva. She is the same build, the same face and hair, even the same eyes. Is he that sick that he wanted to find a lookalike?”
Cowburn also questioned Greyling’s choice to be with Pistorius.
“I have to ask myself that having killed Reeva did he want to replace her with another?” she pondered, adding: “I also have to ask myself how a woman can close her eyes at night and go to sleep with a man she knows fired four bullets that mutilate flesh into a woman he says he loved.”
Cowburn recalls the type of ammunition used, stating, ‘those bullets were Black Talon bullets that are illegal to even use on animals but he put one bullet in my Reeva’s head and three more into her body that did terrible things’.
She believes this indicates Pistorius’s lack of remorse for Steenkamp.
A source close to Pistorius revealed to the Daily Mail: “He is trying to rebuild his life in a low-key way, avoids bars and restaurants, and avoids the general public, flying under the radar.
“He is slowly trying to reintegrate into society but that is being done through families that his family have been close to for decades.”
Steenkamp’s mother, June, also spoke to The Sun about the reports.
“I don’t understand how she doesn’t see a red flag about him because he has not lost his temper problem,” she remarked.
“He was supposed to be under anger management when he was in jail and at one stage I stopped him coming out because I was annoyed that he wasn’t having treatment.
“He was angry – and he still has a problem with anger. He’s still a danger to women. Reeva only knew him for three months and she was dead and he’s never confessed.”
June further expressed concern for Greyling, stating: “It’s not painful for me that he’s with this young woman – I’m just worried about her.”