Oscar Pistorius murdered Reeva Steenkamp.
A South African appeal court has overturned the original verdict of culpable homicide, and the 29-year-old former athlete Pistorius will not be re-sentenced.
“I have no doubt … the accused must have foreseen and therefore did foresee that whoever was behind that door might die,” said Justice Eric Leach.
“The identity of his victim is irrelevant to his guilt.”
The appeal court found that the original trial judge Thokozile Masipa was wrong when she found Oscar Pistorius not guilty of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius had always insisted that he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar when he shot and killed her, while she was locked in a bedroom toilet.
Judge Leach made the announcement on Thursday morning in Bloemfontein. Leach commented that the case was “a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.”
Pistorius was released from prison last October and was serving out his original sentence under house arrest. He is now expected to spend a minimum of 15 years behind bars.
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