Pistorius maintained he killed Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder hiding in the bathroom. PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA— Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, with the judge who decided the punishment calling the double-amputee Olympian a “fallen hero.”After announcing Pistorius’ sentence, the judge ordered a recess to give prosecutors and Pistorius’ defence lawyers time to decide they want to appeal the sentence. Pistorius was asked to stand and face Judge Masipa as she announced his sentence in a courtroom in the South African capital, Pretoria. Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and reality TV star, in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013 by shooting her multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home. Steenkamp’s parents, Barry and June, were also present in the courtroom, which was packed with relatives of both Pistorius and Steenkamp, journalists and other observers.

Source: thestar July 06, 2016 10:07 UTC