Pistorius not guilty of murder

The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has found him not guilty of premeditated murder.

The judge is set to hand down her verdict on the Oscar Pistorius case today. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

OSCAR Pistorius will have to wait until tomorrow to discover if he is guilty or not guilty of manslaughter.

The judge delivering his verdict has adjourned until tomorrow — but not before saying she believed he used excessive force and acted "too hastily" when he fired shots into the bathroom.

Earlier tonight Judge Masipa ruled he could not be found guilty of murder.

She found his "erroneous belief" that his life was in danger - by an intruder- means he wasn't guiltyof murder by dolus eventualis, which is intending to kill someone.

Before that she ruled he was also not guilty of premeditated murder - ie that he planned to kill Reeva Steenkamp that night.

Before she adjourned, Judge Masipa said Pistorius was negligent in the way he acted and had other options available to him.

She said she was not persuaded a "reasonable person" in the same circumstances would have acted the way he did.

"Having regard to the size of the toilet and the calibre of the ammunition, a reasonable person with the accused's disability would have foreseen that to fire a shot at the door the person inside the toilet might be struck and might die as a result."

EARLIER

8.37pm

Oscar Pistorius is not guilty of murder

The worst he can be found guilty of now is manslaughter, or as its known in South Africa, culpable homicide.

8.31pm

The judge is now dealing with "dolus eventuaslis". That is, did he consider he could kill someone and despite that he fired the shots anyway?

"Clearly he did not forsee this..Let alone the deceased he thought she was in the dbedroom at time," the judge said.

If she agreed with this statement, that meant she would have to believe Pistorius's behaviour after the shooting was an merely an "act" to fool authorities.

"It follws the accused believed his life was in danger and therefore cannot be found guilty of murder dolus eventuaslis.

8.28pm

"The accused is the only one who can say what his state of mind was".

But the court was entitled to look at the evidence "as a whole" to try to get to the bottom of what happened.

No evidence to suggest he was not fearful of an intruder. She says the window was open, "it wasn't his imagination at work".

8.25pm

The judge said: "The blow struck and killed the person behind the door. The fact the person turned out to be the deceased, not an intruder, is irrelevant."

"The starting point though is if the accused had the intention of killing the person behind the door."

Pistorius has stated he didn't mean to kill and was acting out of self defence.

The whole case hinges on whether he intended to kill the person behind the door.

8.22pm

The judge is describing how an accused would intend to kill someone but end up killing someone else...

8.19pm

Court resumes.

8.13pm

A short break.

8.07pm

The premediated murder case against him is "circumstantial". The timeline of events "tip the favour of the accused."

"The state has clearly not proved beyond reasonable doubt he is guilty of premeditated murder."

8.04pm

The accused was clearly not candid with court when he said he didn't intend to shoot anyone, as he had a firearm in his hand, the Judge says.

But Judge Masipa has stressed just because she finds some parts of his evidence "untruthful", that doesn't mean he is guilty of what has been charged.

8.01pm

Judge: "He was an evasive witness...Who failed to listen properly to questions put to him

7.59pm

The judge was critical of Pistorius time on the stand. "The accused was a poor witness. In evidence-in-chief he was composed - but under cross examination he "lost his composure".

She said: "The accused's performance in evidence in chief could not be faulted..But under cross examination he contradicted himself and was visibly uncomfortable."

She did say anyone giving evidence in those circumstances would be uncomfortable but noted it was only under cross-examination, when he was being grilled by the prosecutor, that he began to crumble.

7.56pm

The accused used the gun to consciously shoot at something, the judge says.

However, she says: "The intention to shoot doesn't necesarily mean intention to kill. The essential question is whether he intended to kill."

7.51pm

The judge is now addressing one of Pistorius defences, that of "putative defence".

But it appears she has rejected one of his three defences, that he acted involuntarily.

7.47pm

Judge: "On his version (when he heard the noise) he took a conscious decision to take a firearm...noticed the window open...

She did not agree with the defence's arguments that Pistorius had no control over his actions.

She said the court was satisfied "at the relevant time the accused could distinguish betwen right and wrong."

7.42pm

Judge Masipa has told the court the defence said the accused didn't empty his firearm, which shows he discharged in reflex, feeling vulnerable.

Masipa said the key question was whether he could distinguish from right or wrong at the time.

She quotes part of his psychiatric assessment which determined that he was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act."

7.40pm

The Pistorius trial is underway again

7.28pm

While it's all still speculation, media and legal experts in Pretoria are saying the prosecutions case for premeditated murder appears to have failed.

They base this theory on the fact Judge Masipa has rejected the neighbour's testimony, and also disregarded the forensic evidence in regards to the stomach contents and also the Whatsapp messages between the couple — which the Judge earlier tonight said proved nothing.

If it has failed, that doesn't mean Pistorius is a free man. He could still be found guilty of murder or culpable homicide, which is South Africa's version of manslaughter.

6.59pm

Court has adjourned for half an hour.

6.54pm

Judge Masipa says she will now "scrutinse" what Pistorius said in court. She recounted his evidence of him saying he "fired the shots" before "thinking".

"That split moment I believed someone was coming out to attack me..Out of fear I didn't have time to think."

Oscar Pistorius in court. Source: AFP

6.50pm

The judge is detailing the evidence Pistorius gave in court. She says he told the court he found the deceased lying in a sitting position on the floor, her head on the bowl. He carried her downstairs.

She tells the packed court his evidence is important. "He is the only one [alive] that can tell the court what happened."

6.48pm

Judge Masipa is now turning her attention to the defence case.

6.46pm

Turning to the evidence of the post mortem, and the partially digested food, the judge said "gastric emptying" was not an exact science so couldn't be completly relied upon.

6.44pm

The text messages between Pistorius and Steenkamp will not be taken into consideration as they do not assist in any way. Relationships were fickle and did not prove or disprove either side's argument, the court has heard.

Relationships were "dynamic and unpredictable".

6.40pm

Steenkamp could have had a number of reasons to take a cellphone into the bathroom with her but they were all "speculation", Judge Masipa says

6.35pm

The judge is back after a short break. She says the loud screaming neighbours heard COULD NOT have been Steenkamp, because her head injury was so severe she would not have been able to make a sound.

6.29pm

A short break. Journalists in court are speculating we might get a verdict tonight because the judge is moving quickly through her notes.

6.28pm

The phone records of Steenkamp and Pistorius would be relied on because there are too many discrepancies from witnesses.

6.16pm

Many witnesses got some of their evidence wrong, the court has heard. One of the reasons could have been media coverage of the murder "which did not assist", the judge says.

When all the witnesses were asked if they were aware of media coverage of the case each one replied that they had.

"It would be unwise to rely on any evidence by the witnesses...Human beings are fallible and memories can change as time goes on."

6.10pm

Steenkamp's head wound was so bad it would have left her almost incapable of any action and almost certainly rendered her unconscious. There was damage to her brain and a skull fracture. Her injury was so severe that she probably lived only a "few seconds" after she was shot in the head.

The judge says it was her opinion that meant those witnesses who heard continual screaming were probably wrong - unless the screaming was in fact the accused.

"The question, then, is why did he scream?"

6.04pm

In what could be a significant sign of her verdict, Judge Masipa said there was evidence that some neighbours did hear a woman crying out in obvious distress.

Pistorius though has mainatined he did not hear Steenkamp screaming.

6.02pm

Judge Masipa says some witnesses may have heard things, but also missed others, or mistaken the noise of shots, for example, as being the impact of the cricket bat on the bathroom door. Pistorius used the bat to break down the toilet door when he discovered his partner was missing, and he realised she may be in the bathroom.

She says witnesses Burger and Johnson were unreliable but they were unfairly criticised in court.

5.59pm

The judge says issues of contamination of the crime scene, length of the cord and authenticity of photos pale into insignificance, for reasons that will become clear later in the judgement.

5.55pm

The agreed facts in relation to the murder charge are being read to the court. They include the injuries suffered by Steenkamp and Pistorius's attempts to revive her.

The issues are whether there was any premediation and his intent, the judge said. She promised not to go into all the evidence that had been presented throughout the trial.

5.49pm

Judge Masipa recounts the evidence of a neighbour who heard shouts and screams "of a woman in distress".

Another witness testified they then heard gunshots followed by a man's desperate calls for help.

Others heard a man crying "help, help, help". Some tried to call the security of their complex to report the commotion.

"The accused enied the allegations he killed the deceased intentionally or that it was premediated."

Instead, it was Pistorius position that he was acting in the belief she was an intruder who posed a threat to his life, the judge said.

5.42pm

The judge is now talking about Pistorius's plea of not guilty -and his explanation for it - in relation to the murder charge. His evidence was it was a "tragic" mistake that occured after he mistakenly belived an intruder entered his home, she says.

5.40pm

Judge Masipa is detailing the different firearms charges Pistorius is facing, which includes firing a 9mm pistol through a sunroof in September 2012, firing a gun in a restaurant and keeping ammunition which he did not have a license for.

5.35pm

Judge Thokozile Masipa says Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year and then was arrested and charged with murder as well as firearms charges. She begins listing all the charges against him.

5.34pm

The court is now in session and the Judge will begin her judgement.

5.14pm

It's almost a full house in the courtroom, with the Pistorius and Steenkamp families, prosecution and defence teams in place.

5pm

Oscar Pistorius has arrived at court surrounded by supporters and dozens of journalists.

Pistorius's father has also arrived at court, a few minutes earlier than his son. He told waiting media he was "just here to support his son" and didn't want to comment further.

Reeva Steenkamp's parents are already in the courtroom, which is slowly filling up in anticipation of the verdict. It will begin in about 20 minutes.

Carl Pistorius, Oscar's brother, is also in court. There had been speculation he would not attend, after being seriously injured in a car accident, but arrived in a wheelchair and was quickly taken inside.

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. Picture: Channel 7 / Sunday Night Source: Supplied

The case — dubbed the trial of the century — heard the man known as 'Blade Runner' claims he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder, and shot through the bathroom door in self defence.

Oscar Pistorius says he didn't know his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was in the bathroom when he shot through the door. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

The prosecution says his actions were deliberate and premeditated; he planned to kill his girlfriend.

Pistorius faces four charges: murder, and three other firearms charges related to separate incidents.

The murder charge is complicated. Was it premeditated murder, murder without premeditation or culpable homicide, which is similar to manslaughter.

Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home in Pretoria, South Africa. Source: Supplied

Judge Masipa must decide if Pistorius truly believed there was an intruder in his home that morning. If the answer is yes then she must decide if that was a reasonable belief.

If so he would be guilty of culpable homicide in that he did not intend to kill Reeva Steenkamp but was reckless and negligent in firing though the toilet door.

If the she decides Pistorius did not truly believe there was an intruder in the house he would be guilty of murder and Judge Masipa must then decide if it was premeditated in that he knowingly intended to kill his girlfriend or made a deliberate decision to kill an intruder.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother June Steenkamp (right), and family friend Jenny Strydom react to evidence given during the trial. Picture: AP Source: AP

If he is found guilty of premeditated murder the mandatory sentence is life. Under South African law he could be considered for parole after 25 years.

If he is found guilty of murder without premeditation where there was no planning the judge has discretion to decide the sentence.

Culpable homicide or manslaughter is possible if Judge Masipa decides that he did not mean to kill his lover but was reckless and negligent in firing the gun into the locked toilet door. He could get 15 years.

And if Judge Masipa concludes that the Blade Runner made a mistake and his actions were reasonable he could be acquitted.

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