Oscar Pistorius Set To Hear Homicide Verdict

Oscar Pistorius is in court to hear whether he will be found guilty of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend.

The double amputee broke down in the Pretoria courtroom yesterday as he was cleared of two murder charges over the shooting.

But he may be convicted of the lesser culpable homicide charge, which is South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter.

It comes after judge Thokozile Masipa described his actions as "negligent" on the night Reeva Steenkamp died.

Today the judge began by dealing with one of three alleged firearms offences against the defendant which are unrelated to last year's Valentine's Day shooting.

Pistorius is accused of firing a gun through a car sunroof while with his then girlfriend Samantha Taylor and friend Darren Fresco on November 30, 2012.

He is also accused of discharging a firearm at a restaurant on January 11, 2013, and illegally possessing .38 ammunition. Pistorius denies all three charges.

The Paralympian and Olympian, dubbed Blade Runner due to his prosthetic limbs, has always admitted he shot model Ms Steenkamp at his Pretoria home and said he mistook her for an intruder.

In court, judge Masipa accused him of being a poor witness, muddled over his defence and a liar.

Judge Masipa said Pistorius was muddled over his defence and had lied

But she said he did not intend to kill anyone and could not have seen that the intruder he thought was hiding in his toilet was actually Ms Steenkamp.

Judge Masipa also criticised Pistorius' decision to reach for his 9mm pistol and fire it through the toilet cubicle rather than raise the alarm or fire a warning shot.

She said: "If the accused, for example, had awoken in the middle of the night and in darkness seen a silhouette by his bed and in a panic shot at that figure, only to find it was the deceased, his conduct would have been understandable and perhaps excusable."

She added: "The accused had reasonable time to think, reflect and conduct himself.

"I'm not persuaded that a reasonable person with the same disability would have fired the four shots.

"The accused knew there was a person behind the toilet door, he chose to use a firearm.

"I am of the view the accused acted too hastily and used too much force. It is clear his conduct is negligent."

The homicide sentence carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

Any conviction is likely to result in an adjournment for sentencing.

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