Oscar Pistorius found guilty of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Oscar Pistorius was found guilty on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the previous conviction of culpable homicide.
Pistorius had previously been found not guilty of premeditated murder, but Judge Eric Leach has ruled that the six-time Paralympic gold medalist had to have known that firing his gun through the bathroom door in his home would have killed whoever was behind it — regardless of whether he thought the person inside the bathroom was an intruder.
“All the shots fired through the door would almost inevitably have struck the person behind it,” Leach said in his ruling, according to CNN.com. “There would be effectively no place to hide.
“The identity of victim is irrelevant to his guilt.”
Pistorius could face up to 15 years in prison. He can still appeal through South Africa’s Constitutional court. Pistorius has been on house arrest at his uncle’s residence since being released early from prison after serving a year for his previous conviction of culpable homicide. You can read more about the case here.
