IT’S MURDER
Pistorius conviction upgraded – he faces 15 yrs.
DISGRACED Olympic double amputee Oscar Pistorius didn’t get away with murder after all.
A South African court Thursday overturned Pistorius’ conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter in the 2013 shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, and instead found him guilty of murder.
The 29-year-old celebrity athlete, who had served a year in prison and is now under house arrest, faces a new 15-year prison sentence, the minimum punishment for murder in South Africa. No sentencing date has been set.
“Let us now all get on with our lives,” Steenkamp’s father told South African TV station ANN7.
The grieving dad could barely contain his emotions as he recalled his daughter.
“I’m sure she’ll be able to rest as well now,” Barry Steenkamp said.
Pistorius was once a national sports idol for overcoming the amputation of his legs when he was just 11 months old to become an Olympian. He was known as Blade Runner for his sleek, carbon-fiber running blades.
But prosecutors said Pistorius shot Steenkamp, 29, during an argument, blasting her through a bathroom door in his home. The defense argued that he killed her by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.
Pistorius was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read by Justice Lorimer Eric Leach.
“The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder on the basis that he had fired the fatal shots with criminal intent,” Leach said, delivering the ruling on behalf of a five-judge panel.
He also described Pistorius’ often tearful trial testimony as “vacillating and untruthful.”
Leach said that regardless of who Pistorius may have thought was behind the door, he should have known someone could be killed if he fired.
“The legal team will study the finding and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward,” the runner’s family said in a statement.