‘I did take Reeva’s life and I have to live with that’ – Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius expresses regret over killing former girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Former South African Paralympian athlete, Oscar Pistorius‘ travails continue as he faces a murder trial for allegedly killing his then-girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Just out of prison after serving a year for a lesser charge of culpable homicide in regards to the crime, Pistorius maintains he didn’t commit the act intentionally and doesn’t want to further jail time. ‘I don’t want to go back to jail. I don’t want to have to waste my life sitting there,’ he said to British station ITV ahead of his first television interview, which will be screened on Friday.

‘If I was afforded the opportunity of redemption, I would like to help the less fortunate,’ he said. ‘I would like to believe that if Reeva could look down upon me that she would want me to live that life.’

Pistorius who reportedly shot Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013 and was subsequently found guilty of murder by the Supreme Court of Appeal after he got out in March, further relived the night of the crime in the interview.

‘Reeva was a fantastic person, but if people believe that I took her life intentionally, which has not been found, then it’s a very sad thing,’ he said.

‘I did take Reeva’s life and I have to live with that. ‘I can smell the blood. I can feel the warmness of it on my hands.’ With his sentence expected to be handed down by Pretoria High Court on July 6, the former athlete spoke of his regrets at the incident’s occurrence.

‘I understand the pain people feel, that loved her and miss her. I feel that same pain. I feel that same hate for myself. ‘I look back and I think, I always think — how did this possibly happen?’ he said.