Olympian Oscar Pistorius Found Not-Guilty of Murdering His Girlfriend in First Phase of South African Verdict

News Staff : Sep 11, 2014
Thomson/Reuters

In a case that has drawn comparisons to the 1995 murder trial of American football star O.J. Simpson, the judge in the Pistorius trial said that although the Olympian "Bladerunner" was a "very poor and evasive witness," it didn't mean he was necessarily guilty.

(Pretoria, South Africa)—With a reputation of being "tough, fair, and uncompromising," Judge Thokozile Masipa—only the second black woman to become a judge in South Africa—handed down a verdict today in the infamous Oscar Pistorius murder trial of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp: not guilty. (Photo: Pool/Reuters/Landov)

"The state has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder," said Masipa. "There are just not enough facts to support such a finding."

"Clearly," she added, "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."

Upon hearing the verdict, Pistorius—who has throughout the trial exhibited emotional outbursts of tears—broke down sobbing.

Although the Olympian "Bladerunner" was acquitted of premeditated murder, he still faces charges of culpable homicide.

An AP report revealed that Judge Masipa "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 O.J. Simpson."