'She must have been in so much fear': Reeva Steenkamp's father breaks down in tears at Oscar Pistorius sentencing

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barry steenkamp

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Barry Steenkamp, father of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives for the sentencing of former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius at the Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 14, 2016.

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - The father of Reeva Steenkamp has testified in a South African court that her fatal shooting by Oscar Pistorius "devastated" his family and that today he thinks of her "all the time."

An emotional Barry Steenkamp spoke at the sentencing hearing for the former track star, who was convicted of murdering girlfriend Steenkamp in his home in 2013.

At the hearing, Reeva Steenkamp's father also said the world should see the photos of the wounds that killed his daughter.

"What she must have gone through in those split seconds. She must have been in so much fear and pain," he said. "That is what I think of all the time. I can see it myself. It must have been absolutely and utterly awful."

Steenkamp says his daughter's death contributed to his heart and other health problems, and that he frequently imagines that she must have been experiencing great fear and pain just before she died.

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oscar pistorius

REUTERS/Kim Ludbrook

Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius appears for sentencing for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp at the Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 14, 2016.

"At times, I thought the pain that Reeva went through ... I used to take my injections from my diabetes and take the needle and shove it into my stomach and my arms to see if I could feel the same type of pain, but no."

He insisted that Pistorius "has to pay" for killing his daughter. 

Sitting in the courtroom, Pistorius looked downward as Steenkamp testified.

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