Photo: REX USA/Andy Hooper / Associated Newspapers/Rex.UPDATE: Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, in the 2013 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The sprinter will be sentenced on October 13 and faces 15 years in prison. However, legal experts predict that the athlete's jail term will be just seven to 10 years.
Pistorius, who remains on bail until his sentencing, was also found guilty of negligently handling a firearm that went off in a restaurant.
This post originally ran on September 11:
Today, South African Paralympics champion Oscar Pistorius, 27, was found not guilty of murder charges in the death of his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. However, the sprinter could still be found guilty of culpable homicide in Valentine's Day 2013 shooting. Judge Thokozile Masipa will make that announcement tomorrow.
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Though Judge Masipa ruled the prosecution had failed to prove murder, she did say that Pistorius was negligent in Steenkamp's death. She called the amputee Olympic runner an evasive witness, but was also troubled by the lack of "reliable" testimony from prosecutorial witnesses.
"The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder," the judge told the courtroom, where Pistorius wept. "There are just not enough facts to support such a finding."
Judge Masipa also doubted claims that Pistorius intended to kill his girlfriend by shooting at the bathroom door where she hid.
"Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility, that he would kill the person behind the door, let alone the deceased as he thought she was in the bedroom at the time," she said.
If Pistorious is found guilty of manslaughter, he could face up to 15 years in prison. (BBC)
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