Oscar Pistorius has become a ‘grey and bloated’ smoker who now fears for his life
Oscar Pistorius is said to look almost unrecognisable following his release from prison on Friday, with the former olympian now a ‘grey’ and ‘bloated’ smoker who resembles a shadow of his former self.
Once nicknamed ‘blade runner’ for his carbon-fibre leg prosthetics which brought him olympic medals and worldwide fame, Pistorius, now 37, is said to have lost much of his athleticism and has been warned his life is at risk.
The paralympic gold medallist was convicted of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot multiple times through the bathroom door at their Pretoria home in 2013.
He was granted an early release from prison on November 24, 2023, after a parole board review determined the 37-year-old was fit for social reintegration, and set his release date for January 5 of this year.
Yet despite his early release, authorities say they are concerned not just about managing a violent offender out of prison, but also ensuring he is not killed in a revenge attack.
Pistorius is thought to be at risk from hitmen, gangsters and members of the public sympathetic to Steenkamp, prompting South African authorities to keep details about his release secret.
It is thought he will spend the remainder of his parole living in a small cottage on his wealthy uncle’s estate, which has since been fitted with razor wire and electric fences and is patrolled by armed guards.
‘There is still a lot of anger out there and no doubt there are those who would love the scalp of Oscar Pistorius,’ journalist Mark Williams-Thomas told the Times.
Earlier this week, a close friend of Reeva’s late father Barry Steenkamp told the Sun: ‘It’s common knowledge that Oscar was a target big-time for killing Reeva even before he went into prison, and those enemies have not gone away.’
They said: ‘Oscar would not give him the truth while he was protected behind bars. But now that he is coming back out into the real world, he could be ‘persuaded’ to tell the truth.’
On Wednesday, South Africa’s department of correctional services (DCS) said details of Pistorius’s release would not be shared. ‘Disclosing such details may result in a security threat for the inmate and other stakeholders involved. Therefore, DCS has to carefully manage that particular risk,’ it said.
Bill Schroder, Pistorius’s former headmaster at Pretoria Boys High School, has visited him in Atteridgeville four times. Schroder has mentioned that Pistorius is anxious about the idea of parole, as he remains uncertain about how the public will respond to his release.
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