‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a shock decision that left the South African celebrity athlete sobbing with emotion in the dock.

The double-amputee Olympic sprinter was on trial from March 3 to August 8, charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp, 29, a model whom he shot and fatally wounded through the bathroom door of his Pretoria home in February 2013.

However, Pistorius could still be found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter), carrying anything from a suspended sentence to a 15-year prison stretch, or he could be acquitted.

That verdict will be handed down on Friday at 6:30pm (AEST).

“The state clearly has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder,” Thokozile Masipa said, before dealing with the lesser charge of culpable homicide – also known as manslaughter.

When he heard the judgement, the 27-year-old Pistorius, a double-amputee Paralympian sprinter, sat in the dock bowed and burying his head in his hands.

After court adjourned for lunch, his sister Aimee rushed from the first row of the public gallery to hug her older brother, who was wiping tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.

The victim’s parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, left the courtroom with stony faces.

Source: Yahoo! News