Pistorius not guilty of murder but was negligent

Associated Press

PRETORIA, South Africa

During his trial, Oscar Pistorius sometimes retched and sobbed. The double-amputee Olympian sobbed again Thursday, this time in apparent relief as a judge said the evidence did not support a murder conviction for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The judge still could convict Pistorius of a negligent killing — a crime that can carry a lengthy jail term or just a suspended sentence and fine — when she likely finishes reading her lengthy conclusions in court today. Some legal analysts were surprised, saying the runner could at least have been convicted of a lesser murder charge, rather than the premeditated-murder charge leveled by the state.

The Pretoria courtroom was packed for the ruling in the case against 27-year-old Pistorius, once a globally admired celebrity who competed against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London.