Judge Masipa has read much of her judgement and she’s just found Oscar Pistorius not guilty of murder.
The judge said there were not enough facts to prove the most serious charge of pre-meditated murder. She said the case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence and dismissed the witness testimony.
She said the witnesses were unreliable as they were confused when giving testimony and said most of what they said weren’t accurate.
She said even if Oscar was evasive with some facts, and was a ‘very poor’ witness, it doesn’t mean he’s guilty of murder.
She explained that Oscar’s reaction after killing Reeva shows he didn’t have criminal intent, hadn’t foreseen he’d killed her.
She said he could not have faked his reaction minutes after the shooting. She even dismissed the whatsapp message between the lovers, saying relationships are dynamic. She also said evidence did not support the state’s claim of second degree murder.
“The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are just not enough facts to support such a finding’- she said.
While he’s not guilty of premeditated murder, he awaits to find out if he’s guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter) which is the negligent death of another. It means there was no intention to kill but the killing is unlawful.
She questioned why four shots were fired instead of one, and said Pistorius was “clearly not candid” with the court.
Masipa said it was understandable that a person with a disability such as Pistorius’s would feel vulnerable when threatened by danger.
“This court is satisfied that at the relevant time, the accused could distinguish between right and wrong,” she said.
“The essence of accused’s defence was that he had no intention to shoot at anyone… let alone the deceased.”
Pistorius, 27, said he thought an intruder was behind the door of the toilet in his Pretoria home when he shot through it. He fired four times, killing his Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.
The State argued the murder was premeditated.
Pistorius pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, and to three firearm-related charges.