Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder on Thursday morning. A South African judge ruled that the six-time Paralympic gold medalist did not intentionally shoot and kill his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year but could still be convicted of culpable homicide.
Pistorius shook and wept as Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered the verdict.
“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,” Masipa told the courtroom, via NBC News. “That, however, is not the end of the matter.”
Masipa said it has not been ruled out that Pistorius is guilty of culpable homicide, which would be similar to what most call manslaughter. The judge noted that Pistorius has been a “very poor witness” throughout the trial and that he has contradicted himself and been “evasive” while testifying. She also dismissed the notion that Pistorius was suffering from any type of temporary insanity when the incident took place.
We’ll update as the verdict continues.
