Oscar Pistorius Found GUILTY Of Manslaughter Over The Valentine's Day Shooting Of His Lover Reeva Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius is facing jail after being found guilty of manslaughter over the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend.

The Paralympian stood impassively in the dock, his hands folded in front of him, as the judge convicted him of culpable homicide after he shot Reeva Steenkamp dead at his home.

He could now face a prison term of up to 15 years, but equally may walk free from court with a suspended term when he is sentenced at a later date. 

Judge Thokozile Masipa told the hushed courtroom: 'Having regard to the totality of this evidence in this matter, the unanimous decision of this court is the following: on count one, murder... the accused found not guilty and is discharged.

'Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide.'

Miss Steenkamp's father Barry leaned forward in his seat when the manslaughter verdict was read, while her mother, June, showed no reaction.

Members of Pistorius's family embraced the shamed athlete.

Scroll down for live stream of the verdict and videos

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Convicted: Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock as the judge finds him guilty of manslaughter over the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

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Guilty: Pistorius could now face a prison term of up to 15 years, but equally may walk free from court with a suspended term when he is sentenced at a later date

 

LIVE: OSCAR PISTORIUS VERDICT

The runner was also found guilty of negligently firing a gun in a crowded restaurant months before the shooting, but acquitted of two other counts - of discharging a firearm through a car sunroof and illegally possessing ammunition. 

Yesterday, Pistorius broke down in tears as he was dramatically found not guilty of pre-meditated murder and a lesser murder charge.

Nathi Mncube, for the National Prosecuting Authority, said they were 'disappointed' Pistorius was convicted of only two charges.

 

Speaking outside the court he said: 'We respect the judgment that has been delivered. 

'We believed in this instance there was enough evidence to secure a conviction under pre-meditated murder. 

'Of course we are disappointed. We are disappointed we did not secure a conviction under pre-meditated murder and also there was acquittal on the other two (gun) charges. 

'The matter has not been concluded yet, we are still waiting for a sentence to be imposed.'

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Strain: Reeva Steenkamp's mother June and father Barry react as the manslaughter verdict is delivered

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Tense: Members of Reeva Steenkamp's family react as they listen to the judge's verdicts

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Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers her verdicts on a manslaughter charge and three firearms charges

 

Pistorius GUILTY of Reeva Steenkamp's manslaughter

BLADE RUNNER'S CHARGE SHEET: WHAT REEVA’S KILLER WAS ACCUSED OF

Count 1: MURDER (pre-meditated and the lesser straight murder charges) or CULPABLE HOMICIDE of Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.

VERDICT: NOT GUILTY of murder but GUILTY of culpable homicide

POSSIBLE SENTENCE: Up to 15 years in prison

Count 2: DISCHARGING A FIREARM IN PUBLIC. Pistorius accused of firing a bullet into the floor of Tasha’s restaurant, Johannesburg, on January 11, 2013.

VERDICT: GUILTY

POSSIBLE SENTENCE: Up to five years in prison

Count 3: DISCHARGING A FIREARM IN PUBLIC. Pistorius accused of firing a gun through the sunroof of a car he was travelling in with his girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, and Darren Fresco, a friend.

VERDICT: NOT GUILTY

Count 4:  ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF AMMUNITION. Pistorius had .38 calibre ammunition in his safe, and did not have a licence for a gun that takes this ammunition, or a permit for it. 

Pistorius claims he was keeping it for his father, who declined to testify in support of him.

VERDICT: NOT GUILTY

He said it was too early to decide whether prosecutors would launch any appeal.

The athlete, dubbed Blade Runner due to his prosthetic limbs, has always admitted he shot Miss Steenkamp, though he told police he simply mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

But in clearing him of murder, judge Masipa had hinted the 27-year-old may be convicted of a lesser charge of culpable homicide after describing his actions as 'negligent' on the night she died.

Culpable homicide - the South African equivalent of manslaughter - carries up to 15 years in prison but has no minimum sentence and could see him given a suspended term.

She told the court in Pretoria, which included members of both the defendant's and the victim's families, that Pistorius acted 'hastily' with 'too much force' when he fired four bullets through his toilet door in the early hours of February 14 2013. 

Pistorius was also described by the judge as a 'very poor witness' who 'lost his composure' during cross-examination.

Yesterday, legal experts said the state could question the decision not to convict on the lesser murder charge that requires a different concept of intention - known as 'dolus eventualis' - which holds you responsible for the foreseeable consequences of your actions.

Judge Masipa said: '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.'

But Stephen Tuson, a law professor at Johannesburg's University of Witwatersrand, said the state would arguably be able to appeal on dolus eventualis (which is Latin for 'indirect intent').

'How can you shoot four bullets through a door and not foresee their death?', he told Bloomberg News.

Via - Dailymail.