Following the death of Reeva Steenkamp, a South African model and TV personality who was killed by her Paralympian boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, June Steenkamp, and Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s parents were brought into the limelight.
June and Barry Steenkamp had only one child from their union together albeit having other kids from their first marriages.
During the trial of their daughter’s murderer, June was an active member of the court case while Barry was initially away due to ill health shortly after the death of his daughter.
They eventually got justice for Reeva when Oscar was sentenced to 13 years and 5 months imprisonment for murder.
However, on September 14, 2023, Barry passed away, peacefully, in his sleep at the age of 80.
June and Barry Steenkamp Got Married a Second Time to Each other in 1983
Barry Steenkamp was a horse trainer in Cape Town who got married to June Marshall. June was born in Blackburn England before relocating to Cape Town, South Africa.
She was initially married to a man named Mr. Tony Cowburn and had a daughter with him named Simone Cowburn. June met Tony at the age of 14/15, got married at the age of 17, and gave birth to her daughter a year later.
She and her first husband moved to South Africa in 1965.
Late Reeva’s mother is now an author after she published a book about her daughter’s life and murder.
Just like June, Barry was also previously married and had a son with his first wife. The name of the boy is Adam Steenkamp.
Reeva Steenkamp’s parents got married sometime in the 1980s and gave birth to their only daughter together on August 19, 1983.
After living in Cape Town for a while, the family moved to Port Elizabeth and continued life there.
The 2 children from their previous marriages were older siblings to their only daughter, Reeva Steenkamp who was brutally murdered by her boyfriend of 3 months, on Valentine’s Day of 2013.
June Steenkamp and Barry Steenkamp’s daughter was a model and TV personality in South Africa. She was well-known for being the first face of Avon cosmetics in the entire South Africa.
Reeva was also a TV presenter for FashionTV and was part of many TV adverts in the country.
Ultimately, she was a law graduate from the University of Port Elizabeth in 2005.
June and Barry’s daughter became a paralegal and served in such a capacity until her death.
Reeva Steenkamp’s Parents Suffered Greatly Following her Death
Reeva Steenkamp’s Parents were thrown into a state of grief when the news of their daughter’s murder came to light. Due to health challenges, Barry was unable to attend court cases as he suffered a stroke in 2014.
The murderer, Oscar Pistorius, also known as ‘Blade Runner’ is a former well-known athlete. According to him, he shot at his then-girlfriend 4 times because he thought she was an intruder trying to get into his house through his bathroom.
Despite the story given by Oscar, June, and Barry refused to believe this because they believed Oscar deliberately shot and killed their daughter. The State also believed that Oscar shot Reeva during an argument.
After his first trial, the Paralympian was found guilty of culpable homicide and was to serve 5 years imprisonment. However, on December 3, 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa overturned the verdict. He was then convicted of murder and sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Later, the years were increased to 13 years and 5 months. So far, he has served about half of his prison term.
As earlier stated, Barry was absent at the beginning of the court process. He was mostly represented by his wife, June, and her first daughter. Later on, he availed himself for some of the proceedings when he felt better and could make the appearance.
February 14, 2023, made it 10 years since the law graduate died. While it hasn’t been easy for Reeva Steenkamp’s parents, they still agreed to meet with Oscar.
This time, Barry represented his entire family on the Victim-Offender dialogue program put together by South African authorities.
According to Barry, Oscar wailed like a baby while reading the letter sent to him by his wife. Nonetheless, he still left the meeting without getting the needed closure from his daughter’s murderer.
Barry and his family were happy that Oscar was serving the punishment for his crimes. What they did not appreciate was the fact that he stuck to his story and refused to tell the truth. To them, Oscar was still not remorseful about what he had done.
Even with the satisfaction of knowing Reeva is getting justice for her murder, June and Barry were still left unsatisfied after the meeting. All they wanted was for the culprit to confess to deliberately killing their daughter.
Barry Steenkamp Died at the Age of 80 Without Getting Closure for His Daughter’s Murder
On August 19, 2023, June Steenkamp and Barry Steenkamp celebrated their daughter’s posthumous birthday. If she were alive, she would have turned 40 on said day.
Unfortunately, almost a month after this celebration, Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s father, died.
The reports carrying the news state that he died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday night and that he had gone to be with his daughter.
Barry suffered greatly after the loss of his daughter and possibly never got over the heartbreak. He died at the age of 80 after celebrating his 80th birthday back in May 2023.
The former Cape Town horse trainer, Barry, is survived by his wife, June Steenkamp, his first son from a previous marriage, Adam, and his stepdaughter, Simone.
