Model Reeva Steenkamp planned to give speech on abuse the day she was allegedly murdered by Blade Runner beau
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Nov. 4, 2012: In this photo, South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp, believed to be his girlfriend, at an awards ceremony, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP)
Reeva Steenkamp, the stunning model allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius on Valentine's day, had planned on drawing on her past abusive relationship for a motivational speech on the day she was murdered.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Steenkamp had written a valentine's day speech and was set to give it before the students of Sandown High School in Johannesburg, South Africa, urging them to "be brave," "always see the positive" and to make their voice heard.
"I was in an abusive relationship at the same time (his mother used to abuse him)," reads a draft of the speech obtained by the UK newspaper. "I lost a lot of self-worth during my last year in PE [Port Elizabeth] before I moved to Jozi [Johannesburg] and it took some serious soul searching to remind myself of my value in this world."
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"being loved by others, although an amazing feeling to have the appreciation of others, does not define your place in the world," the draft continues.
News also surfaced on Saturday that a reality show featuring Steenkamp will premiere as scheduled this weekend in her native South Africa.
“Tropika: Island of Treasure,” whose TV spots feature a beaming, bikini-clad Steenkamp, will air as scheduled on South Africa Network SABC1 — and her distraught family will be watching her performance.
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“Reeva would’ve liked us to watch it,” her uncle, Mike Steenkamp, told People magazine. “She indicated that before the tragedy.”
Producers for the show said not airing the prerecorded show would be an “injustice” to the model’s memory.
“Every episode that she is in, every frame that she so ably dominates, shines with the light and her light and her laughter echoes in every conversation, and we want to share these special memories with the rest of South Africa,” Tropika producer Samantha Moon said in a statement.
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This week’s episode will be dedicated to Steenkamp’s memory and begin with a tribute to the model.
Steenkamp's boyfriend, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is "numb with shock, as well as grief" after the shooting death of his model girlfriend at his home in South Africa, the runner's uncle said Saturday, as his family "strongly refutes" charges that he planned to kill her.
Arnold Pistorius spoke with The Associated Press and two other South African journalists about his nephew's arrest in the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot four times on the morning of Valentine's Day. Arnold Pistorius spoke to reporters from his three-story home in the eastern suburbs of South Africa's capital, Pretoria.
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The statement, the first on camera and directly made in person by Pistorius' family, also came out strongly against prosecutors seeking to upgrade the charge against Pistorius to one of premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison.
"After consulting with legal representatives, we deeply regret the allegation of premeditated murder," Arnold Pistorius said. "We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the state's own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated murder."
The track star's arrest in the killing of 29-year-old Steenkamp shocked South Africa, where Pistorius was a national hero dubbed the Blade Runner for his high-tech prosthetics and revered for overcoming his disability to compete in the London Games. She was discovered in a pool of blood before dawn Thursday by police called to Pistorius' upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria. Authorities said she had been shot four times, and a 9 mm pistol was recovered at the home.
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Pistorius remains held at a police station pending a bail hearing Tuesday.
Arnold Pistorius did not discuss the circumstances of the shooting, but said that his nephew and Steenkamp had become very close since they started dating in November.
"They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time," the uncle said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.