Pistorius Case Mirrors 2004 Case
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: In South Africa, Oscar Pistorius' family says he's going to hold a private memorial service today for his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.</s>MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Pistorius, of course, is free on bail on murder charges after he shot and killed Steenkamp at his home. He has, of course, been arguing he thought she was an intruder .</s>MALVEAUX: In South Africa, the murder charges against him for the shooting death of his girlfriend, it is not the first such case. Actually, Nic Robertson reports there was a tragedy back in 2004 that is very similar to this shooting.</s>HOLMES: Yes, it brought back some horrible memories for a prominent South African sportsman and his family.</s>FRIEDA VISAGIE, SHOOTING VICTIM'S MOTHER: That is when the evening before</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the last picture you have?</s>F. VISAGIE: The last picture.</s>ROBERTSON (voice-over): Marley (ph) was 19. Just out of high school. Her mother Frieda, so proud.</s>F. VISAGIE: She was pretty. Even --</s>ROBERTSON (on camera): Oh, she's beautiful. She's beautiful.</s>F. VISAGIE: Even she's my daughter but she was pretty.</s>ROBERTSON (voice-over): Frieda and her husband, Rudi Visagie, a former international rugby star, remember every detail of the night in 2004.</s>F. VISAGIE: Sunday morning, 23rd of May, about 5:00 in the morning, a sound, a noise woke me up.</s>ROBERTSON: Frieda thought Marley's car was being stolen and woke Rudy.</s>RUDI VISAGIE, SHOOTING VICTIM'S FATHER: I jumped up and I saw it. And I took out the pistol.</s>ROBERTSON: Rudy was afraid. Two of their neighbors had been killed the week before. He broke the bedroom window and shot at the thief.</s>F. VISAGIE: I heard Rudy growling. And I wondered, what's happening now? And then he told me, but it's Marley in the car.</s>ROBERTSON: In that instant, their lives changed forever.</s>R. VISAGIE: So that -- that one shot out of a million, went right -- went right through the door, penetrated my daughter through the neck. And she was actually dead on the site.</s>ROBERTSON: Visagie was not prosecuted. The court decided he had suffered enough, saying we feel he has learned a hard lesson and the courts cannot achieve more than that.</s>F. VISAGIE: I wish she could be with me. And I see daughters with their little children. You know, I wish I had these little children.</s>ROBERTSON: And they feel the pain of Oscar Pistorius, "the blade runner," who shot and killed his glamour model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, he says fearing a thief was in his house.</s>R. VISAGIE: Nic, I can tell him, I feel with you.</s>F. VISAGIE: I couldn't forgive myself because I woke Rudi up. So I can sort of feel what he feels. Why did I do this? What if, you know, all those questions that goes through his head.</s>ROBERTSON: Today, both say their faith in God saved them. That Marley's death was part of God's plan.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Women are being abused. Women are being raped. People are being oppressed.</s>ROBERTSON: At their evangelical church, they've become leaders, often sent all over the country to counsel trauma victims.</s>R. VISAGIE: I just want to encourage him to say, listen, there's a lot of people praying for you and know they feel for you for what you're going through now.</s>ROBERTSON: Both say, if he calls, they are ready to help. Nic Robertson, CNN, Nelstrate (ph), South Africa.