SICK fans of convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius have trolled the bereaved mother of his victim.
An online hate campaign was launched towards Reeva Steenkamp‘s mother, saying she was “milking” the death of her daughter.
Oscar Pistorius shot model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times on Valentine’s Day in 2013[/caption]
Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp has been the victim of online abuse after having a stroke[/caption]
Pistorius served just eight years in prison for murdering Reeva[/caption]
June Steenkamp was rushed to hospital for an urgent brain scan last week before it was revealed the 78-year-old had suffered a life changing stroke.
After an online campaign was launched to help pay for the intensive and private rehabilitation treatment June will need, cruel online trolls started flooding the comments.
Venomous fans of Pistorius left intense comments saying June’s stroke was “payback” and “karma” for making the life of the man who murdered her daughter “hell” and accusing her of “milking” Reeva’s death.
The mother-of-three was found collapsed at her South African farm last Monday and has been left unable to speak and remains unaware of her surroundings as doctors carry out extensive tests.
The extent of the damage to June’s brain remains unknown.
The appalling comments have rocked June’s family and friends, as the still-grieving widow remains in hospital.
Reeva was 29 years old when Pistorius shot and killed her four times through the bathroom door of his home on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
The Paralympian was released from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in January last year, into the care of his uncle Arnold Pistorius.
He served eight years behind bars for murdering Reeva.
Pistorius now lives with his uncle at his Pretoria mansion.
The convicted killer and double amputee was known as the “Blade Runner” after wearing prosthetics to compete in the Olympics for both able and disabled sprinters.
Lawyer and close friend of June, Tania Koen said: “There are people out there who are happy she had a stroke”.
“[They think] she deserves what has happened,” she said.
“There are people who say that’s what she needs for ruining Oscar‘s life.
“It is disgusting that people can be so cruel to someone who has lost a cherished daughter who she loved deeply so violently,” she told News24.
The online abuse was aimed at the Reeva Steenkamp Foundation Facebook page set up by the model’s distraught parents Barry and June.
June and Barry Steenkamp set up a foundation to support other people experiencing gender based violence[/caption]
The online hate has been targeting the foundation’s page, saying Reeva’s family was ‘milking’ her death[/caption]
Pistorius was released from prison last year and now lives in his Pretoria mansion[/caption]
The foundation helps to support other victims of gender based violence (GBV).
One post read: “KARMA is truly so wonderful she made his (Pistorius) life hell and now everything is coming back to you. IT’S NICE HEY!!!!”
Another said: “Stop milking your daughters death”.
“Now public hospitals aren’t good enough for you FFS thousands of stroke victims go through the public system and they are doing just fine f–k off now your five minutes is over jeeze,” the post continued.
June’s daughter Simone, 59, spoke out about the abuse from her UK home, saying Pistorius’s fans had been relentlessly harassing the family since Reeva’s murder.
“There is not a lot we as a family have not been called because we fought for justice for Reeva and all the other women who suffer gender-based violence (GBV),” she said.
“I have moved back to the UK to prepare a home for my mother where we plan to get on with the rest of our lives without all this noise and all the bad memories around us,” she added
Simone was “devastated” when she learnt of her mother’s condition, saying she’d “been on antibiotics for a bladder infection” prior to the stroke.
“I believe if it turns bad it can lead to delirium and a stroke but I don’t know what has happened,” she said.
She said her mother was “still getting over the death of Barry” her husband, who died two years ago.
Reeva’s father Barry ‘died of a broken heart’[/caption]
June remains in hospital recovering from her stroke as doctors continue to run tests[/caption]
Fans of the convicted murderer have continually harassed Reeva’s family since her death[/caption]
“He basically died of a broken heart after what happened to Reeva,” Simone said.
She added that her mum “does not have health care insurance”, but Tania launched the fundraiser to try and get her into private care quickly.
“It does not surprise me that this has reawakened the trolls,” she said.
Despite the vile comments from Pistorius fans, many comments have supported June and slammed the trolls.
One comment read: “Love to June. Some humans are despicable”.
“It says a lot about their ugly characters. They have no walked a mile in June or Barry’s shoes.”
The bereaved couple lived at Ostara Farm in Port Elizabeth, but had struggled financially and lost their family pub The Barking Spider when Covid closed it down.
June was due to fly to the UK this month to be with Simone after selling the farm.
Pistorius murdered Reeva while she was hiding from him in the bathroom of his home[/caption]
June was found collapsed at her South African farm before being rushed to hospital last week[/caption]
Online trolls say Reeva’s family ‘ruined’ Pistorius’ life[/caption]
Simone said that was “all on hold now until the doctors give a clear prognosis”.
“She is in great hands at the hospital and has great friends,” she said.
“At the moment it is a waiting game.”
Hitting back at trolls, Tania defended Barry and June.
“There is a misperception that June and Barry got paid millions for interviews, but they didn’t and only took money to save them taking it from Oscar,” she said.
She said Barry – previously a horse race trainer – had been left bankrupt when a client refused to pay him a huge amount of owed money.
Barry resorted to chopping and selling wood to live.
“The family rejected a financial settlement from Pistorius, but when things became too hard they accepted £250 (R6000) a month to pay their rent and put food on the table,” Tania added.
“They are not money-grabbing people at all.
“The way they were maligned on social media during the trial and ever since makes me very emotional,” she continued.
” I don’t understand how people can be so cruel to two lovely people … [who] lost somebody who was so, so very important to them.”
“I think something has gone wrong with us as human beings that we would see someone’s pain and react with so much darkness and hatred,” she added.
June is set to relocate to the UK with her daughter Simone after her recovery[/caption]
