UPDATE: Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, over the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa convicted him of culpable homicide (manslaughter) in the Pretoria High Court today.
The judge, who also found him guilty of one firearm charge, said Pistorius was “negligent” and acted “too hastily” in firing the shots that killed his girlfriend.
Pistorius is yet to be sentenced.
**YESTERDAY:**
It has been touted as the trial of the century, and now Oscar Pistorius is expected to learn his fate as Judge Thokozile Masipa begins reading her decision in a South African court.
The Olympic double-amputee runner, who killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year, faces up to 25 years in jail if he is found guilty of premeditated murder.
He has strongly denied intentionally killing the model, saying he thought there was an intruder in his home.
The trial, which has lasted six months, has captivated the world; and today will be no different. Millions are expected to watch the verdict that could either send the “Blade Runner” behind bars or set him free to continue his athletics career that made him a hero.
He has strongly denied intentionally killing the model, saying he thought there was an intruder in his home.
The trial, which has lasted six months, has captivated the world; and today will be no different. Millions are expected to watch the verdict that could either send the “Blade Runner” behind bars or set him free to continue his athletics career that made him a hero.
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Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius.
Last month while summing up their argument in the Pretoria High Court, prosecutors said Pistorius had changed his story during the trial and this was evidence that he had concocted “a snowball of lies” in a crude attempt to avoid conviction for murder.
Pistorius, 27, fought back a stream of tears in April to stammer out an apology to Steenkamp’s mother, June, who watched him stern-faced from the public gallery.
“Since this tragedy happened I’ve been having thoughts about your family, I wake up every morning and you’re the first people I think of, the first people I pray for,” Pistorius said.
“I can’t imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness I’ve caused you and your family. I was simply trying to protect Reeva.”
Judge Masipa could also give Pistorius a lengthy jail term if she finds him guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter.
