Yet Steenkamp’s mother June referred to the other offer of $34,000 that the family rejected as “blood money” and asked prosecutor Nel to call it that in court, de Bruyn said.
“The words ‘blood money’ are her words,” de Bruyn said.
Judge Thokozile Masipa found Pistorius, 27, not guilty of murder, concluding he acted hastily and with excessive force, but didn’t intend to kill Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model. The judge has wide latitude when deciding on a sentence. Pistorius could receive a fine and a suspended jail term or as many as 15 years in prison.
Vergeer and another social worker recommended that Pistorius be given a three-year correctional supervision sentence, which would place him under house arrest for periods and require him to do community service. Prosecutors insist that such a sentence would be inappropriate and say Pistorius should be sent to prison, citing the level of negligence he showed when he fired his 9 mm pistol without checking who was behind the door.
Family members of Pistorius and Steenkamp attended the second day of the trial’s sentencing hearing, which is expected to last around a week. Pistorius mostly sat looking down during Tuesday’s testimony.
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Imray reported from Stellenbosch, South Africa.
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