BREAKING NEWS: Oscar Pistorius is Convicted of Murdering Reeva Steenkamp

                   "Judges overturn original trial's 'flawed' manslaughter verdict"

The Olympic sprinter was not in the Supreme Court of Appeal this morning to hear the decision of a five-strong panel of judges.

Pistorius, 29, will now return to court in the New Year to face a possible 15-year jail sentence for shooting Reeva Steenkamp through a toilet door in his home early on Valentine's Day 2013.

The tragic killing of Miss Steenkamp, a law graduate turned cover girl, at the hands of one of the world’s greatest sports stars was described as ‘a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions’ by Justice Eric Leach, who read a summary of the court’s findings.

In his damning verdict, he concluded Pistorius 'fired without a rational or justifiable fear that his life was in danger. The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder.'

The former track star was put under house arrest at his uncle's mansion on October 19 after serving one year of a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter.

Today Justice Leach overturned that conviction to replace it with murder following a 53 minute court hearing.Neither Pistorius nor any of his family were in court this morning. June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, made an appearance alongside representatives of the ANC Women's League, who she embraced outside the courthouse following the decision.

Miss Steenkamp, who has rarely betrayed emotion during months spent in court, gave no comment on the finding.

She was accompanied by her lawyer and friend - her husband Barry remained at home in Port Elizabeth, on the other side of South Africa.
During the hearing, the court heard Pistorius was considered to have been a 'very poor' witness whose version of events changed 'substantially'.
Justice Leach also said the original judge's understanding of 'dolus eventualis' - awareness of the likely outcome of an action - to be 'confusing in various respects'.
Pistorius’ worst fears were realised 35 minutes into the hearing when Justice Leach ruled that the athlete must have foreseen that he might kill the person behind his toilet door, given the number and type of bullets he used.
‘The identify of the victim is irrelevant in this case,’ the judge read, adding that Pistorius ‘gambled with that person’s life.’

In rejecting Pistorius’ attempt to defend his actions at his trial, the panel found that the sprinter failed to offer ‘an acceptable explanation for having done so’.
Recounting how Pistorius approached the bathroom ready to fire with a heavy calibre weapon, Justice Leach stated the sprinter had 'never offered a credible explanation for having done so'.

He dismissed a possible retrial and making no further order in the interests of justice, which required a person 'should be convicted of the crimes they have committed'.
In a terse statement, Pistorius family's responded: 'We have taken note of the judgement that has just been handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
'The legal team will study the finding and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward. We will not be commenting any further at this stage.'