Oscar Pistorius Cleared of Murder Charges in High-Profile Case of Girlfriend's Shooting
Olympian athlete Oscar Pistorius has been cleared of all murder charges after South Africa judge Thokozile Masipa said on Thursday that prosecutors had failed to prove that he intended to kill his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, in an incident in February 2013.
"The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder," Masipa told the Pretoria High Court, according to Reuters. "There are just not enough facts to support such a finding."
Pistorius broke out in tears as the judge read the sentence.
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The 27-year-old athlete will still have to find out if he will be convicted on the charge of culpable homicide, however. Masipa said that Pistorius had been a "very poor" and "evasive" witness during the high-profile trial, but that did not mean he was necessarily guilty.
"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," the judge said.
The incident in question occurred on the morning of February 14, 2013, when Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria.
Pistorius, who in 2011 became the first double-leg amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal and later compete at the Summer Olympics, said that the incident was a tragedy where he mistook his girlfriend for a robber hiding in the bathroom.
Prosecutors had accused Pistorius of premeditated murder and witnesses claimed that they heard screaming from the home at the time of the shooting. The athlete insisted, however, that the screams were his.
Masipa affirmed that "none of the witnesses had ever heard the accused cry or scream, let alone when he was anxious," and so could not positively identify whether the screams were his or Steenkamp's, The Associated Press added.
"I continue to explain why most witnesses got their facts wrong," she added.
Masipa also decided to disregard text messages between the couple that had been presented before the court, with the prosecution sharing messages that apparently showed tension between the two, while the defense showed messages that indicated mutual affection.
"Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle," the judge added.
Pistorius would have faced at least 25 years in prison for premeditated murder. If convicted of culpable homicide, he could be jailed for up to 15 years. He can also face years in jail if found guilty of murder without pre-planning, or of negligent killing, and he can be acquitted of all charges if Masipa finds him to have made a tragic error.
June Steenkamp, the mother of the victim, said in an interview in July that she has forgiven the athlete.
"I don't hate Oscar," Steenkamp said. "I've forgiven him. I have to — that's my religion. But I am determined to face him and reclaim my daughter. It's important for him to know that I'm there, that Reeva's mother, who gave birth to her and loved her, is there for her."
