South African Judge Thokozile Masipa says Oscar Pistorius acted “too hastily and used excessive force” when he shot Reeva Steenkamp, in comments ahead of her verdict on charges of culpable homicide.

“In the circumstances it is clear his conduct is negligent,” Masipa said on Thursday, shortly before adjourning proceedings until Friday.

“The accused had reasonable time to reflect, to think and conduct himself reasonably.”

• Pistorius: The rise and fall of the Blade Runner
• Pistorius ‘can’t escape’ conviction
• Shock at Pistorius ruling

Pistorius was found not guilty of murdering Steenkamp, a shock decision that left the celebrity athlete sobbing with emotion in the dock.

“The state clearly has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder,” Masipa told the High Court in Pretoria.

“Viewed in its totality the evidence failed to establish that the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased let alone with premeditation,” she said.

Pistorius could still be found guilty of culpable homicide, carrying anything from a suspended sentence to a lengthy prison stretch, or he could be acquitted.

A conscious decision

Judge Masipa on Thursday said Oscar Pistorius “took a conscious decision” to arm himself and shoot when he killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.

“The accused clearly wanted to use the firearm,” said Masipa, reading out her lengthy verdict, but said the intention to shoot does not necessarily include the intention to kill.

Judge Masipa on Thursday moved swiftly into her assessment of the almost 40 witnesses, apparently rejecting state evidence that pointed to an argument between the couple.

“Neither the evidence of the loving relationship or a relationship turned sour can assist this court to determine whether the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased,” she said.

A point of fact

The judge also reviewed evidence by neighbours who testified of hearing shots and screams, saying many “had their facts wrong”.

She said huge media coverage of the case could have affected some witnesses.

“I am of the view that they failed to separate what they knew personally or what they heard from other people or what they gathered from the media,” she said.

Some interpreted her remarks as a blow for the prosecution, although she also cast doubt on the evidence of some defence witnesses.

And she said Pistorius himself in his evidence showed “a number of defences, or apparent defences”.

The world waits for the verdict.

After reading a list of contradictory statements in Pistorius’s testimony, she said one assertion “is inconsistent with someone who shot without thinking”.

Grimacing and sniffling, the 27-year-old celebrity sprinter watched as Masipa called Pretoria’s High Court to order and read her verdict.

If found guilty of deliberately killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, he faces a life in South Africa’s infamously tough prisons and notoriety that would forever eclipse his sporting achievements.

The final verdict

Pistorius is charged with one count of murder and three firearms offences.

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp.

Masipa restated the undisputed facts of the case – Pistorius killed the law graduate and model when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his upmarket Pretoria home.

The sprinter doesn’t deny this, but says he thought he was shooting at an intruder while Steenkamp was safely in bed.

The prosecution says he killed her in a fit of rage after an argument.

The verdict is the climax of a six-month murder trial that has cast a harsh spotlight on the fallen hero’s private life.

Full of high drama, the trial has fed intense media interest worldwide, with live broadcasts veering into the realm of TV reality shows.

During proceedings Pistorius has broken down, weeping and at times vomiting as he heard how the 29-year-old blonde’s head “exploded” like a watermelon under the impact of his hollow-point bullets.

A packed gallery

Inside the court on Thursday Pistorius’s sister and the implacable mother of the woman he killed looked on from the packed public gallery.

June Steenkamp arrived to the courtroom early on Thursday, accepting a hug from a supporter wearing a “Imprison for Reeva” paper pinned to her shirt.

Prosecutors have described the double amputee as an egotistical liar obsessed with guns, fast cars and beautiful women, who refused to take responsibility for his actions.

The court heard transcripts of phone messages in which the pair argued, Steenkamp texting: “I’m scared of you sometimes, of how you snap at me.”

Defence lawyers sought to explain there are “two Oscars”: a world-class athlete and a highly vulnerable individual with a serious disability who acted out of fear, not anger, when he fired the fatal shots.

If Masipa decides Pistorius deliberately murdered Steenkamp, he could face a life sentence, which in South Africa means 25 years in jail.

The ‘Blade Runner’, Oscar Pistorius.

Masipa could also decide that Pistorius did not kill her intentionally, but did act recklessly, opening the door to a lesser charge of culpable homicide, which could still carry a prison term.

Any guilty verdict is unlikely to be the end of the case.

There will be more courtroom arguments before a sentence is handed down and, most likely, an appeal to a higher court.

Whatever happens, Pistorius’s glittering sporting career is likely to be over.

Once a poster boy for disabled sport, he has been stripped of lucrative endorsement deals by global brands and has withdrawn from all competition.

Pistorius painted as gun-obsessed hot head

The personality of the Paralympic gold medallist, who won worldwide fame when he competed on his prosthetic blades against able-bodied runners at the London Olympics, was a focus of the trial.

Prosecutors described him as an egotistical liar obsessed with guns, fast cars and beautiful women, who was not prepared to take responsibility for his actions.

Defence lawyers said there were “two Oscars” — a world-class athlete and a highly vulnerable individual with a serious disability who acted out of fear, not anger, when he fired the fatal shots.

After testimony from almost 40 witnesses, including neighbours who said they had heard screams and shots, and defence experts who said this was impossible, the cast reassembles with Judge Masipa taking a central role.

While Pistorius is doomed as always to play the star of a show he would rather not be in, prosecutor Gerrie “Pitbull” Nel and defence lawyer Barry “I put it to you” Roux have become co-stars with their own following.

And behind Pistorius in the public gallery, as always, will be his supportive sister — and the implacable mother of the 29-year-old woman he killed.

As in the famed live television trial of US football hero OJ Simpson, who was accused of murdering his wife 20 years ago, most viewers seem to have already decided on Pistorius’s guilt or innocence.

But now Judge Masipa will announce the only opinion that counts — hers.

Unlike the Simpson trial, in which he was controversially acquitted by a jury, Judge Masipa is assisted only by two assessors.

Whatever happens, Pistorius’s glittering sporting career is likely to be over.

Once a poster boy for disabled sport, Pistorius has been stripped of lucrative endorsement deals by global brands and has withdrawn from all competition.

-AAP, ABC