South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years’ of imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

This comes after his initial five-year conviction for manslaughter was changed to murder last December on appeal.

Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp at his home in an upscale Pretoria neighborhood in the early hours of Valentine’s Day three years ago, a killing he says was an accident, after he mistook her for an intruder, but one the prosecution called a deliberate act after the two had an argument.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors, such as his failure to fire a warning shot, for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence.

• Navy Commander promoted to the rank of Admiral
• Total COVID-19 cases rise to 2,646
• Ginigathhena leopard released into the wild
• Movement in several areas in Rajanganaya restricted
• PCoI on 2019 April Attacks visits the East; over 200 people have testified