South African court changes Oscar Pistorius verdict to murder

South Africa's top appeals court ruled on Thursday that paralympian Oscar Pistorius' earlier conviction be scaled up from manslaughter to murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp two years ago.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, who handed Pistorius his original sentence, will re-sentence the Paralympic champion at a later date.

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 as mitigating circumstances.

The announcement marks the latest twist in a protracted legal saga that began with Steenkamp’s death on Valentine’s Day 2013.

Pistorius has argued that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot four times through the locked door of his bedroom toilet, killing the model and law graduate.

Last year he was given a five-year jail sentence for "culpable homicide", the equivalent of a manslaughter verdict.

But prosecutors argued that the double-amputee runner should be convicted of murder and their appeal was heard on November 3.

'THE JUDGE POINTED TO SERIOUS FLAWS IN THE ORIGINAL RULING'

Pistorius was released from jail on October 19 after a parole board agreed to place him under correctional supervision, a form of house arrest, in line with guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.

Reporting from Cape Town, FRANCE 24’s Ayesha Ismail noted that the five judges on the appeals panel unanimously approved Thursday's dramatic legal reversal, read out by judge Eric Leach.

The judge described the athlete's testimony in 2013 as "untruthful" and delivered a damning indictment of the original verdict.

“Leach said Judge Masipa had made serious errors of law (…) and that the court did not properly consider all the evidence” during the trial, Ismail reported.

Officials said Pistorius would remain on parole under house arrest at his uncle's mansion in Pretoria until he is re-sentenced.