The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has ruled out all
murder charges, but says he may still be guilty of culpable homicide
(manslaughter). Judge Thokozile Masipa said the prosecution had failed to
prove the Olympic athlete killed his girlfriend deliberately in the toilet
after a row, prompting tears from Mr Pistorius.
He cannot have foreseen killing whoever was behind the
toilet door, she said. She added he was an evasive witness but this did not mean
he was guilty.
Judge Thokozile Masipa went to address a charge of
culpable homicide - similar to manslaughter - saying the runner had been
'negligent' when he fired the fatal shots.
She told the court that Pistorius had acted 'hastily' and
with 'too much force' but adjourned proceedings for the day before reaching a
verdict.
In coming to her decision on the murder charges, judge
Thokozile Masipa described the 27-year-old as a 'very poor' and 'evasive'
witness.
But she said that did not mean the track star was
necessarily guilty of murder and pre-meditated murder in a case she said was
based entirely on circumstantial evidence.
'The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that
the accused is guilty of pre-meditated murder,' Masipa told the Pretoria High
Court.
The South African Olympic sprinter denies murdering Reeva
Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, saying he thought there was an
intruder.
Mr Pistorius, 27, has pleaded not guilty to all the
charges he faces, including two counts of shooting a firearm in public and the
illegal possession of ammunition.
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