South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who was cleared of murder in the killing of his girlfriend, was convicted Friday on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
After a grueling trial, Judge Thokozile Masipa accepted the athlete's defense that he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder. But she found that he was negligent when he fired four shots into the door of a toilet cubicle where the 29-year-old model had locked herself in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
The judge asked Pistorius to stand to hear the verdict.
"The accused is found not guilty and discharged," she said of the murder charges. "Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide."
Pistorius, who repeatedly broke down in tears during months of testimony, stood straight, staring ahead, without showing any emotion.
Prosecutors contended that Pistorius, 27, wanted to kill Steenkamp after they had an argument.
Although Masipa found there was insufficient evidence to convict the athlete on more serious murder charges, he could face significant prison time after he was found guilty of a negligent, although unintentional killing, known in South Africa as culpable homicide. Sentencing is expected in the coming weeks.
Masipa began Friday by acquitting Pistorius of an unrelated charge of recklessly firing a weapon out of the sunroof of a car, saying the prosecution did not provide enough evidence to prove its case. She said the prosecution witnesses, both former friends of Pistorius, contradicted each other and one of them, Darren Fresco, was dishonest.
The judge also acquitted Pistorius on a charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
However, Masipa convicted Pistorius of recklessly discharging a firearm in a public place, over an incident at a crowded restaurant called Tashas. Pistorius said the gun went off in his hands. But the judge said he should not have asked to handle a gun in a crowded place, and she accepted the evidence of witnesses that he was warned that the weapon was loaded.
Many South Africans were surprised that the judge, though she found that Pistorius was dishonest when he repeatedly insisted that he never intended to fire the fatal shots, still acquitted him of murder. Some legal analysts suggested that Masipa had made a mistake that could provide a basis for an appeal.
But Masipa cited a legal precedent cautioning a judge against a guilty conviction just because an accused person lied under oath.
Pistorius, a double amputee, won fame and adulation for running in the 2012 Olympic Games in London on prosthetic legs, attracting sponsorships worth millions. The sponsors abruptly dropped him after the murder charges, and he appeared to lose public support after his poor performance on the witness stand.
His acquittal on the murder charges raises the question of whether the athlete may be able to resume a sporting career. But the emotional frailty he showed throughout the trial, weeping frequently and vomiting on hearing descriptions of Steenkamp's wounds, may have irreparably damaged the Pistorius brand that sponsors once clamored for.
After the court recessed for a short break Friday, Pistorius remained in his place for a few minutes, then stood up, alone, fiddling with notes, still showing no emotion. His sister, Aimee Pistorius, was the first to approach and comfort him. Other family members stood in their places, as though still digesting the news of Pistorius' conviction.
His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, turned to journalists, saying the damage to the athlete caused by the trial was "tragic" and could never be rectified.
The Steenkamp family sat talking quietly among themselves.
For news from Africa, follow @RobynDixon_LAT
Sept. 12, 1:50 a.m.: This story was updated with reaction form the courtroom.
Sept. 12: 1:26 a.m.: This story was updated with Pistorius convicted of culpable homicide.
Sept. 12, 1:15 a.m.: This story was updated with the judge's decision on two lesser charges.
Sept. 12, 12:59 a.m.: This story was updated with Pistorius acquitted of a charge of firing a weapon out of the sunroof of a car.
This story was originally published at 12:53 a.m.
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