Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian known as "Blade Runner," has been found guilty of murder by a South African appeals court decided on Thursday, December 3.
Pistorius shot three times and killed his girlfriend model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, argument shooting her through a bathroom door in his home.
Pistorius argued that he killed her by mistake, thinking she was an intruder and he fired out of fear.
In October, Pistorius was allowed to move from prison, where he served a year of his original five-year sentence, to house detention.
Judge Eric Leach explained to the court "that the original judgment, culpable homicide, was “fundamentally flawed,” because Oscar should have foreseen that firing shots would’ve killed whoever he was shooting at, even if he did think it was an intruder and not his girlfriend."
The 29-year-old paralympic champion who had served a year in prison and is now under house arrest at his uncle's Pretoria mansion faces a new 15-year prison sentence, the minimum punishment for murder in South Africa.
In South Africa, a murder conviction usually carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, although Pistorius' lawyers are likely to argue that his physical disability and mental stress should be considered to lessen the sentence.
Pistorius, who grew up in Pretoria with a single mother, an older brother and a younger sister, achieved incredible success despite the odds stacked against him.
Both of his deformed legs were amputated when he was a baby, but despite his condition, he became one of the world’s most famous athletes and the first amputee to run in the Olympics.
June, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, was present and she was seen outside the court being embraced by members of the African National Congress Women's League, who were singing songs of celebration.
Many South Africans have applauded the court's decision on social media, saying justice has now been served for Ms Steenkamp.
