Oscar Pistorius has been convicted of murder by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal, which threw out his conviction on the lesser crime of culpable homicide for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius will have to return to prison after the court found him guilty of murdering Steenkamp in 2013.
“Guilty of murder, with the accused having criminal intent,” judge Eric Leach told the court. “The matter is referred back to the trial court to consider an appropriate sentence.
Pistorius, 29, was convicted of manslaughter, or culpable homicide, for shooting Steenkamp through a toilet door in his home early on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The verdict that was read by Judge Leach, who was part of a panel of five judges that made the decision, said Judge Thokozile Maspia’s judgment against Pistorius was filled with “fundamental errors”.
A murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa.
Prosecutors said Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument, while the defence said Pistorius killed Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.
The former track star was put under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion in a Pretoria suburb on October 19 after serving one year of a five-year prison sentence, in line with the guidelines of South Africa’s correctional services department.
On November 3, prosecutors argued at the Supreme Court of Appeal, which is in Bloemfontein city, that the judge at Pistorius’ murder trial in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria made errors when she acquitted him of murder. The runner should have known that someone could be killed when he fired four times through the door of a toilet cubicle, according to the prosecution.
Under the concept of “dolus eventualis” in South African law, a person can be convicted of murder if they foresaw the possibility of someone dying through their actions and went ahead anyway.
Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion, became one of the world’s most famous athletes and the first amputee to run at the Olympics and the able-bodied world championships. He was known as “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre running blades.
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