The parents of Reeva Steenkamp say they will not pursue a civil claim against Oscar Pistorius for killing their daughter.

Barry and June Steenkamp said in a statement issued through their lawyer that they will also hand back monthly payments of $550 made to them by Pistorius from March last year to September this year.

The Steenkamps said they had decided in the past few weeks not to pursue a civil settlement from Pistorius after his criminal trial ends.

Revelations over payments to the Steenkamps by the Olympic runner were made during his sentencing hearing yesterday. The chief prosecutor said the Steenkamps had refused another offer of $34,000 from Pistorius and considered it "blood money".

Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, or negligent killing, in Steenkamp's shooting death.

The sentencing hearing will continue later this morning.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.