Oscar Pistorius to be sentenced for murder in June

Oscar Pistorius

South African Olympic and Paralympic gold medallist, Oscar Pistorius, will face sentencing in June following his conviction for murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Multiple media reports indicate the sentence date is between June 13 and 17.

Pistorius, known as “Blade Runner” for the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he used to race, faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence.

The Supreme Court in December upgraded the 29-year-old double amputee’s sentence on appeal to murder from “culpable homicide” – South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence.

Pistorius was released from prison and placed under house arrest on October 19, having spent one day less than a year behind bars for shooting dead Steenkamp, in a case that attracted worldwide interest and continues to fascinate and divide South Africa.