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| Screengrab of BBC Live Coverage of Pistorius Verdict. |
Judge Masipa has read much of her
judgement and she's just found Oscar Pistorius not guilty of murder. The judge
explained that Oscar's reaction after killing Reeva shows he didn't have
criminal intent, hadn't foreseen he'd killed her, BBC reports.
"The state has not proved
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder.
There are just not enough facts to support such a finding' the judge said.
While he's not guilty of premeditated murder, he
awaits to find out if he's guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter) which is
the negligent death of another. It means there was no intention to kill but the
killing is unlawful. The court has adjourned for early lunch.
A
verdict on the less serious charge of culpable homicide is still to come.
Although
Judge Thokozile Masipa described the 27-year-old as a "very poor" and
"evasive" witness, she said this did not mean the track star was
necessarily guilty 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
premeditated murder," Masipa told the Pretoria High Court. "There are
just not enough facts to support such a finding."
She
then proceeded to absolve Pistorius, who said he shot model and law graduate
Reeva Steenkamp in the mistaken belief she was an intruder hiding in a toilet
cubicle, of the lesser murder charge of dolus eventualis.
"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," she told the packed courtroom.
As
she delivered her decision, Pistorius, who would have faced at least 25 years
behind bars for premeditated murder, sat sobbing in the dock, tears streaming
down his cheeks.
Although
he has been cleared of the two murder charges, he could still be convicted of
culpable homicide for the negligent or reckless killing of Steenkamp, who was
hit by four 9mm rounds Pistorius fired through the toilet door at his luxury
Pretoria home.
Culpable
homicide still carries up to 15 years in jail.
Alternatively
the double-amputee could be acquitted, allowing him to leave the court and potentially
resume his career as one of the biggest names in world athletics.
As
the 66-year-old Masipa began her methodical review of the 41-day trial and the
charges - which also include three unrelated firearms offences - a pained and
forlorn Pistorius bowed his head in the dock.
Masipa,
only the second black woman to rise to the bench in South Africa, has remained
impassive throughout the often dramatic and gruesome court proceedings,
seemingly impervious to the global interest in a case that has drawn comparisons
to the 1995 murder trial of American football star OJ Simpson.
In
one early blow to Pistorius, Masipa said defence allegations of police
contamination of the crime scene "paled into insignificance".
However,
as she drew up a detailed timeline of the shooting of model Reeva Steenkamp on
Valentine's Day last year, she questioned the reliability of state witnesses,
including that of a neighbour who testified to hearing screams of a woman.
She
also rejected a mass of instant messaging evidence presented by both
prosecution and defence to suggest, respectively, that the couple's
relationship was on the rocks or loving and strong.
"Normal relationships
are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are
fickle," she said. "None of the evidence of a loving relationship, or
a relationship turned sour, can assist this court."
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