Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide after the judge found he killed his girlfriend by mistake.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said the athlete acted “negligently” when he fired shots through a toilet door but in the “belief that there was an intruder”.

She said the state had failed to prove he intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp.

He was also found guilty on a charge of negligently handling a firearm that went off in a restaurant.

The BBC’s Andrew Harding, in court, says that following the verdicts, Pistorius sat, rubbed his face and slumped briefly forward.

There was not much emotion in court because everyone knew that verdict was coming, our correspondent adds.

It leaves the disgraced sprinter facing a jail sentence of up to 15 years, although legal experts suggest seven to 10 years is more likely when sentence is passed in a couple of weeks.

Pistorius had to push his way through a scrum of journalists as he arrived at court on Friday

Just after the verdicts came in, police released photographs of the crime scene

A bloodied Oscar Pistorius was pictured in the aftermath of the shooting

In 2012, Oscar Pistorius made history by becoming the first double amputee to run in the Olympic Games

The athlete and Reeva Steenkamp had been dating for three months before the fatal shooting
The double amputee had denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine’s Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake.

With this the judge agreed, saying “it cannot be said that the accused did not entertain a genuine belief that there was an intruder”.

But she said: “The accused knew there was a person behind the toilet door, he chose to use a firearm.

“I am of the view the accused acted too hastily and used too much force. It is clear his conduct is negligent.”

Pistorius was convicted on an unrelated firearms charge – negligently handling a firearm that went off in a crowded restaurant.

He was acquitted of another charge of firing a gun in public, through the sunroof of a car, and of a charge of illegal possession of ammunition in the home where he killed Ms Steenkamp.

BBC