Oscar Pistorius granted bail despite judge finding him guilty of culpable homocide: Report

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on bail despite being found guilty of the manslaughter of his girlfriend early Friday morning.

As the shamed sprinter stood patiently in the dock, his hands folded in front of him, Judge Thokozile Masipa convicted him of culpable homicide after he shot Reeva Steenkamp dead at his home, reported the Daily Mail.

Pistorius could now face a prison stint of up to 15 years, but might walk free with a suspended term when he is sentenced at a later date.

For now, he is free to walk out of court until sentencing

Judge Masipa told the hushed courtroom: "Having regard to the totality of this evidence in this matter, the unanimous decision of this court is the following: on count one, murder... the accused found not guilty and is discharged.

"Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide."

Steenkamp's father Barry leaned forward in his seat when the manslaughter verdict was read, while her mother, June, showed no reaction.

Meanwhile, members of Pistorius's family embraced the once idolized runner.

The athlete known as Blade Runner was also found guilty of firing a gun in a crowded restaurant months before the shooting, but acquitted of two other counts — of discharging a firearm through a car sunroof and illegally possessing ammunition. 

Only a day before, Pistorius broke down in tears as he was dramatically found not guilty of pre-meditated murder and a lesser murder charge.

Nathi Mncube, for the National Prosecuting Authority, said they were "disappointed" Pistorius was convicted of only two charges.

He said prosecutors would decide whether to appeal after sentencing.

Oscar Pistorius found not guilty of murder — awaits verdict on manslaughter charge: Report

Oscar Pistorius has been cleared of all murder charges over the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He will still have to wait for a verdict on a less serious manslaughter charge.

The Paralympian sat sobbing in a packed courtroom with tears streaming down his cheeks while Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered her verdicts Thursday morning, reported the Daily Mail.

Pistorius had been accused of deliberately shooting the 30-year-old model during a violent incident at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year.

But he had always maintained — often through bouts of wailing during his six-month trial — that he shot the law graduate in self-defense after mistaking her for an intruder.

In coming to her decision, Masipa described the 27-year-old as a "very poor" and "evasive" witness.

But she said those circumstances did not mean the track star was necessarily guilty of murder and pre-meditated murder in a case she said was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

"The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of pre-meditated murder," Masipa told the Pretoria High Court.

"There are just not enough facts to support such a finding."

She then proceeded to absolve Pistorius of the lesser charge of murder without pre-planning.

"Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he would kill the person behind the door — let alone the deceased — as he thought she was in the bedroom," she told the crowded courtroom.

Masipa has yet to decide on a lesser charge of culpable homicide — similar to manslaughter — and a variety of weapons charges.

Appearing tense with a green vomit bucket by his side in the dock, the world-class sprinter looked on quietly as Masipa called Pretoria's High Court to order at the start of the hearing.

During her summary of the case, Masipa dismissed a series of heated text messages between the couple which the prosecution claimed was evidence they were in a volatile relationship.

Whatever the final verdict, the one-time poster boy for disabled sports will likely see an end to his sparkling career in track and field.

Pistorius' reps name substance found in home as aid for 'muscle recovery'

Oscar Pistorius' representatives have named the substance found in his bedroom after the shooting death of his girlfriend as Testis compositum and claim it is a herbal remedy used "in aid of muscle recovery."

A product called Testis compositum is also marketed as a sexual enhancer, good for stamina.  Some online retailers advertise oral and injectable forms as testosterone boosters and say it can aid sexual performance and offer relief from nocturnal emissions.

South African police said during Pistorius' bail hearing that they found needles in Pistorius' bedroom along with the substance, which they initially named as testosterone. Prosecutors later withdrew that statement identifying the substance and said it had been sent for laboratory tests and couldn't be named until those tests were completed.

Pistorius family spokesperson Lunice Johnston said in an email to The Associated Press today that the athlete's lawyers had confirmed that the substance is Testis compositum. In court last week, Pistorius' defense lawyer Barry Roux said the substance was not banned by sports authorities, but it had been unclear what it was and what the exact name was.

A U.S. subsidiary, Heel USA Inc., says the product is sold in tablet form only and the firm's website claims it provides temporary relief for men's "sexual weakness" and lack of stamina.

The U.S.-sold tablets contains 23 ingredients including pig testicles, pig heart, pig embryo and pig adrenal gland.  It also includes cortisone, ginseng with other botanicals and minerals, said a spokeswoman.

Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor emeritus and expert on steroid use in sports, said animal steroids likely wouldn't have an athletic performance-enhancing effect unless taken in huge quantities. Even so, he said many elite athletes would be wary of using such supplements because they can be laced with banned substances and few would want to risk it.

Pistorius — the double-amputee, Olympic sprinter known as Blade Runner — was charged with premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.  He claims he thought the 29-year-old model was an intruder in his home.

Pistorius will hold personal memorial service for slain girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius and his family will hold a personal memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at his uncle's home Tuesday night.

Pistorius, who has been charged with premeditated murder of the 29-year-old Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, is out on bail since Friday and has been staying at his uncle Arnold's Pretoria, South Africa home.

The Pistorius family released a statement confirming the service.  "Oscar specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva," the statement read.

"Since it is such a sensitive issue, Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own.

"The Pistorius family would like to make a personal request to the media, to please respect their privacy at their home in Pretoria tonight."

Steenkamp's family held a memorial service Feb. 19, the same day Pistorius first appeared in court for his bail hearing.  Her body has been cremated, the family said.

Pistorius' reputation management firm said Pistorius had specifically requested the service for Steenkamp — whom the Paralympic and Olympic star known as Blade Runner says he shot by accident assuming she was an intruder in his home.

Pistorius left 9-mm gun out during magazine photo shoot

Oscar Pistorius apparently had a penchant for weapons and, besides keeping a Taurus 9mm handgun strewn about on his nightstand, the Olympic track star had applied for an arsenal of gun licenses only weeks before he was charged with murdering his girlfriend.

In a Paris Match magazine photo taken before the shooting, a silver Brazilian-made Taurus can be seen within arm's reach of his bed lying about with such mundane items as his keys, TV remote and his designer watch.  The gun wasn't even put away during the photo shoot.

Many believe this paints the picture of a disturbed, gun-crazy young man who committed premeditated murder.

The criminal case against the double-amputee known as the "Blade Runner" has taken on some surreal and O.J. Simpson-like turns — including Pistorius' claim that he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three times by accident and some shoddy police work by the authorities — and it's only in the bail hearing stage.

The prosecution contends Pistorius was not just a casual gun user but a gun nut trying to assemble an arsenal of weaponry just days before he killed the South African model.

A report from The Associated Press has sullied the one-time Olympic star's reputation. It claims Pistorius applied for firearms licenses for a Smith & Wesson model 500 revolver, a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, a Vector .223-caliber rifle and three shotguns only three weeks before the tragic Valentine's Day shooting.

Pistorius used a licensed 9-mm Parabellum pistol to shoot Steenkamp — a different gun than the Taurus in the photo shoot.

Pistorius does not deny shooting the 29-year-old model but claims he thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he took four shots through the bathroom door.

The prosecution meanwhile had to admit to some sloppy police work including falsely identifying steroids in Pistorius' home, tramping through the crime scene in unprotected boots and lead investigator, Detective Hilton Botha, facing murder charges himself.

Pistorius' defense team is still trying to get the shamed 26-year-old athlete released on bail ahead of his trial, but has been denied.  He reportedly owns a house in Italy and prosecutors believe he is a flight risk.

"If he left, it would be difficult to get him back," said Botha.

Pistorius is facing life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Pistorius charged with premeditated murder of girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during a packed hearing in a Pretoria, South Africa courthouse Tuesday. The charge was upgraded after new details of the tragic shooting emerged and were laid out by the State.

The double-amputee Olympic sprinter, known as the "Blade Runner," took the time to put on his prosthetic limbs, picked up his 9mm pistol, walked over to a locked bathroom and fired four shots through the door fatally wounding the 29-year-old Steenkamp three times in the head, chest and arm during a Valentine's Day argument, according to prosecutors.

The disgraced Pistorius bowed his head and sobbed uncontrollably as his defense lawyer, Barry Roux, challenged the State's case.  The Paralympic champion is applying for bail. There was no decision on bail today and it seems unlikely, according to experts.

More than 200 photographers, reporters and TV camera men swarmed the Pretoria Regional Court for the high-profile hearing as prosecutors set up their case.

“Our case is that the applicant (Pistorius) shot and killed an unarmed, innocent woman in the early hours of February 14,” Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court, revealing details of the State’s case for the first time. “We say the only reasonable inference is that applicant armed himself, attached his prostheses, walked seven metres to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet. He fired four times and aimed at the basin...She was shot three times.

“The door to the toilet was broken open from the outside and we can infer that she was locked in there," added Nel. "He then carried the deceased down the stairs when he walked into a security guard who had come into the house. The front door was open.”

Pistorius subsequently told the security guard and friends that he had mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar.

It is a claim, that Nel believes was “all part of the pre-planning” of the murder. “It was what he would say if people arrived at the house...[But] Why would a burglar lock himself in the bathroom?”

Even if Pistorius’ story about mistaking Steenkamp for a burglar were plausible, Nel argued, Pistorius “walked to the bathroom with clear intention to kill the burglar and did so while the burglar was harmless in the toilet.

“If I take my gun and walk from the bedroom to toilet and shoot the burglar, this in itself constitutes premeditated murder of a defenseless burglar. Premeditation does not require months of planning. If I arm myself and walk a distance with intention to kill someone it is premeditated.”

Nel claims Steenkamp spent the night with Pistorius and an overnight bag was found in the bedroom of his home in an exclusive gated community in eastern Pretoria.

Roux challenged the State's case.

"All we really know is that she locked herself in the toilet, she was shot through the toilet door," he argued. "That is all we know.  If you scratch the veneer off (the State's case), where is the pre-meditation, where is the pre-planning?

"Do they have evidence this was not a very good relationship?" he asked. "Then they should put it before the court that there was a serious problem in this relationship.  But they cannot do that (because they don't have it)."

Steroids, bloody bat found inside Pistorius' home after slaying: Report

Police found banned steroids inside the home of Oscar Pistorius and believe the Olympic track star may have killed his girlfriend in an alcohol-fueled, 'roid rage, according to reports.

The drugs were found during a search of Pistorius' Pretoria, South Africa estate along with a bloodied cricket bat, said police.

Investigators said the "Blade Runner" sprinter might have used the bat to smash model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp's skull before shooting her to death in the brutal Valentine's Day attack.

"Steroid drugs were found at Pistorius' home together with evidence of heavy drinking," a source close to the investigation told The Sun of London.

"Police have specifically ordered that he be tested for steroids," the source said of the 26-year-old double amputee.

"There was lots of blood on the bat," said the source.  "Forensic tests will show whose blood it was."

The Sun claims the 29-year-old Steenkamp's skull was crushed and that Pistorius used the bat to beat her as she defended herself during a fight.  She was reportedly shot four times through a locked bathroom door.

Police had been at the Pistorius home two hours before the shooting because the couple had been fighting.

Investigators are looking into whether a late-night text from South African rugby star Francois Hougaard set Pistorius off.  Hougaard was a friend of both Pistorius and Steenkamp and they regularly exchanged tweets with each other.

After Steenkamp's death, Hougaard tweeted a photo of the three of them at dinner with friends.

Pretoria police have declined to comment on the reports of the steroids and bloody bat but have charged Pistorius with murder. Pistorius claims he mistook the model for an intruder.

He is due back in court Tuesday — the same day Steenkamp's friends and family will gather for a memorial service in Port Elizabeth.

Reality TV show starring Pistorius' slain girlfriend will be broadcast this Saturday as scheduled

A South African television network will not postpone the reality show Tropika Island of Treasure 5 from its  planned broadcast on Saturday Feb. 16 — just two days after the tragic death of model and contestant Reeva Steenkamp — who was shot by her boyfriend Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.

The SABC says the first episode of the of the show will go ahead even after Pistorius has been charged with murder of the vibrant 30-year-old woman.

On Valentine's day, the legless Pistorius, 26 — better known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fiber legs in track and field circles — was charged with shooting Steenkamp four times in his South African home after claiming he mistook the internationally known model as an intruder. He was later charged with murder.

A statement released by Samantha Moon, creator and executive producer of the Tropika series said:

As we grieve today with Reeva's family & friends and struggle to make sense of this shocking tragedy, it has taken much deliberation to come to the decision to continue screening Tropika Island of Treasure 5 as planned. 

Reeva was an intelligent, beautiful and amazing woman, and we feel it would be an injustice to keep that unknown from those who did not know her personally. Every episode that she is in, every frame that she so ably dominates- shines with her light and her laughter echoes in every conversation, and we want to share these special memories with the rest of South Africa. 

In honour of Reeva's vibrant life and the time we were blessed to spend with her, this week's episode will be dedicated to Reeva's memory, coupled with a special tribute to her on Real Goboza (RGB) at 6pm prior to the first episode of Tropika Island of Treasure 5 on SABC 1 on Saturday, 16 February 2013, at 6:30pm.

This comes after other South African television stations immediately pulled all Pistorius TV ads and promos. Yesterday, Nike yanked the sprinter's regrettable "I am the bullet in the chamber" ads.

The reality show is a South African competition in which celebrities and ordinary people compete in remote, exotic locations for a chance to win a 1-million Rand prize (about $100,000). This is the fifth season.

It's hard to call broadcasting the show in the wake of a contestant's alleged murder morbid or tasteless without pointing a finger at ourselves. After all, we watch movies and music videos with murdered and dead stars all the time and label them tributes.

This time it just seems like a real case of "too soon?"