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It was the most shocking moment of the trial: when the state prosecutor confronted Oscar Pistorius with a close-up photo of Reeva Steenkamp, her hair matted dark with blood, the athlete recoiled in horror and his defence counsel jumped to his feet to object: "That is uncalled for."
There was no complaint, however, from the woman sitting stoically on the front row of the public gallery. June Steenkamp, mother of the late model and law graduate, had been warned in advance that the image would be used. Her lawyer advised her when to drop her gaze so she would not see it.
On Friday, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide for shooting Reeva through a toilet door on Valentine's Day last year. He maintained that he had mistaken her for a burglar.
When the court adjourned, June could be seen shaking her head and hugging and comforting another family member. Steenkamp's close friend Gina Myers broke down and wept.
"This verdict is not justice for Reeva," June Steenkamp later told NBC news. "I just want the truth." Reeva died a "horrible, painful, terrible" death, she added, saying: "He shot through the door and I can't believe that they believe it was an accident."
June, 67, attended almost every day of Pistorius's trial, while her husband Barry, 71, who recently suffered a stroke, followed it on TV and joined her for the first time for closing arguments last month.
The rest of the world has been watching, debating and tweeting the case, which for the Steenkamps has meant constantly reliving the night of their 29-year-old daughter's death.
"It doesn't go away," said Barry's brother Mike Steenkamp. "The experience is a daily occurrence. It's not something you sweep under the carpet and it's gone. It's up in your face all the time. As it goes on, flashes of Reeva keep coming back."
Speaking before the trial, Mike said he would travel from Cape Town to be in court to support his brother for the verdict. "He doesn't know how he will handle any situation. He asked me to come up. We'll just have to see the results at the end of the day. We're leaving it in the Lord's hands."
Reeva Steenkamp was born in Cape Town on 19 August 1983, and moved to the city of Port Elizabeth as a child. She graduated with a law degree from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University but was spotted by a talent scout and launched a career in modelling.
She publicly denounced violence against women, and on the day she died she was due to give an inspirational talk at a school in Johannesburg.
Hagen Engler, a former editor of the South African edition of FHM magazine, for which Reeva was a cover star, said he had known her since around the age of 15 in Port Elizabeth, where they both grew up.
Reeva Steenkamp. Photograph: Gallo Images/Rex Features
"She was an amazing girl, a really intelligent person," he said. "She went into the modelling industry and had a mature understanding of it. She had a funny sense of humour, like a guy's sense of humour. She was talented and was starting to succeed. The girl was really going places."
Since her death, the Steenkamps have withdrawn to running a pub in a hamlet outside Port Elizabeth, but have been bombarded by media attention and interview requests.
Recently, June told Hello! magazine that she still felt the presence of her daughter and talked to her all the time. "She'll only rest in peace when this is over. I trust that God will prevail and justice will be done. All we want is the truth." She said she had forgiven Pistorius.
The community in Port Elizabeth, in Eastern Cape province, founded by British settlers nearly two centuries ago, has been watching the trial closely. Pete Pelser, a local businessman, said: "I would guess about 40% of the people watched it on a daily basis. They were talking about it all the time."
Another local resident, Kerry Smith, said: "Everyone's now a lawyer and forensic pathologist. Very few people haven't been talking about it. A whole bunch called in sick when the trial started.
"I think Pistorius's cross-examination was the most watched television ever. When he went in for a month of mental health observation, people were saying: 'What am I going to do during the day now?'"
Some in Port Elizabeth have turned against the couple for demanding fees for interviews. But Smith, a friend of Reeva who met both her parents, said: "There's a lot of sympathy for Mr and Mrs Steenkamp. It's their only child together. Reeva and her mum were totally inseparable and she idolised her dad – she was a real daddy's girl."
Smith knew Reeva for four years at university when they were law students and, after drifting apart, they renewed their friendship via Facebook. She still becomes emotional when she hears their favourite songs – Beyoncé's Me, Myself and I and OutKast's Hey Ya! – on the radio.
"We loved Beyoncé. We used to call her Bouncy. When I hear the songs, it's not a sullen emotion that comes over me. It's sad but it's happy-sad. I remember the good things."
The part-time tutor, now 37, has found the trial difficult viewing at times. "It's been very emotional, especially when the photo was shown of her head shot. I thought her hair's black again, but then your brain processes it and you realise it's blood. It's a shock for everyone to see it but it's a murder case."
The teenage Reeva participated in the Miss Port Elizabeth pageant and talent contests run by the local Herald newspaper. Barbara Robertson, former fashion and beauty editor, who helped organise the events, said she was unmoved by Pistorius's emotional breakdowns in court.
"Every time I heard him vomit and every I time I heard him cry, I actually wanted to vomit myself," she said. "It was horrendous. I thought: be a man. I know others felt the same. People here are very harsh on Oscar Pistorius. Nobody gives him the benefit of the doubt."
She said the community was ready to move on. "We just want to say enough now. Everybody in Port Elizabeth wants closure. Most people's attitude is: for God's sake, let Reeva rest in peace now. On Facebook we remember Reeva on birthdays and anniversaries. People haven't forgotten her but let's get on with our lives."
Robertson described her feelings during the trial: "So sad. So amazing but terribly sad. She was the sweetest girl, kind to the underdog. It filled me with sadness. Especially for those of us who are parents."
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