Pistorius still faces homicide verdict, cleared of murder
- 10 years ago
Oscar Pistorius has been cleared of premeditated murder in the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.
Judge Thokozile Masipa, a former social worker and journalist, will decide the verdict. She read a part of a 4,000-page summation of the 41 days of trial proceedings at the High Court of South Africa, in Pretoria.
Masipa said: “The state has clearly not proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are just not enough facts to support such a finding.”
Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee paralympic and Olympic runner, killed model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day.
Her parents were in the court. So was his family.
Pistorius says he shot Steenkamp in a tragic accident, believing that noises he heard came from an intruder. It was at his home in the early hours of 14 February 2013. She was in the locked bedroom toilet. He fired four shots through the door.
Before adjourning, judge Masipa called Pistorius negligent. He could still be found guilty of culpable homicide, for which there is no minimum sentence.
The judge’s analysis of the evidence will continue tomorrow. Then comes the verdict.
Judge Thokozile Masipa, a former social worker and journalist, will decide the verdict. She read a part of a 4,000-page summation of the 41 days of trial proceedings at the High Court of South Africa, in Pretoria.
Masipa said: “The state has clearly not proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are just not enough facts to support such a finding.”
Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee paralympic and Olympic runner, killed model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day.
Her parents were in the court. So was his family.
Pistorius says he shot Steenkamp in a tragic accident, believing that noises he heard came from an intruder. It was at his home in the early hours of 14 February 2013. She was in the locked bedroom toilet. He fired four shots through the door.
Before adjourning, judge Masipa called Pistorius negligent. He could still be found guilty of culpable homicide, for which there is no minimum sentence.
The judge’s analysis of the evidence will continue tomorrow. Then comes the verdict.