Updated 2:01 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) – A South African judge on Friday found Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Reuters reported.
Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared the athlete of murder charges. She based the culpable homicide decision on the fact that Pistorius had acted "unreasonably and negligently" when he fired four shots into his bathroom door, killing Steenkamp, who was behind it.
Under South African laws, a culpable homicide verdict may carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The trial was adjourned for the day on Thursday. Masipa earlier said prosecutors failed to prove that the murder was premeditated and therefore Pistorius cannot be found guilty of murder.
On February 14, 2013, the body of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp was found in Oscar Pistorius's house in Pretoria, the South African capital.
According to Pistorius, he woke up in the middle of the night and heard sounds coming from the bathroom. Thinking it was an intruder, he fired several shots at the closed door. When he opened it, he saw his girlfriend who died shortly afterward.
Prosecutors argued that Pistorius deliberately tried to kill his girlfriend.
