Oscar Pistorius found not guilty of premeditated murder

Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder on Thursday morning, ending a 41-day trial of the South African sprinter.

Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, a crime that carries a sentence of 25 years in South Africa, as well as culpable homicide, two counts of discharging firearms in public and possession of illegal ammunition.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, a judge known in the country for being tough on cases involving violence against women, told the courtroom on Thursday that Pistorius could not have known for certain when he fired four bullets through his bathroom door on Valentine’s Day morning that he would have killed his then supermodel girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was inside.

Pistorius, a double-amputee, argued he did not know Steenkamp was inside the bathroom, believing her to be an intruder in his Pretoria home.

The athlete first made track and field headlines in 2011 when he qualified for the 400m semi-final at the world championships. The following summer, after a battle with organizers, he made international news by making the semi-finals again at the Olympics in London, racing on carbon fibre blades. He also anchored South Africa’s 4 x 400m relay team.

Judge Masipa took the entirety of the morning to read her verdict on the charge of premeditated murder before adjourning the reading of the remaining charges until Friday, when a guilty charge of culpable homicide is possible. That charge, similar to one of manslaughter in Canada, carries a sentence of five years in prison, but the sentence can also be altered by the judge depending on the circumstances of the killing.

If found guilty of culpable homicide, or any of the other three charges, Pistorius can still appeal the verdict, potentially stretching the case on much longer.